Icha Icha Sakura
by Nottoca
Summary: When Sakura ends up as a character in one of Jiraiya’s Icha Icha novels, she decides to get some revenge, but needing some help, she turns to the number one authority… and its all downhill from there. Lemon. KakaSaku.
1. Chapter 1

_Yep, it's a Kakashi-(older)Sakura fic and if you don't like the pairing, just don't read it. _

_This idea hit me as I was trying to finish another fic and I just had to write this one. I think I got the idea from viewing this drawing by stormdragon02 on the DeviantArt website (to follow link replace the words in parenthesis with the actual punctuation - http(colon)//stormdragon02(dot)deviantart(dot)com/art/Kakashi-and-Sakura-Joke-44420696). The chapters for this fic are kinda short and hopefully I can put them out fairly quick (quick for me-think weekly). AND there WON'T be a lemon. That is my goal; I want to write a sweet, light-hearted and kinda fluffy fic without having a lemon. To do this, I'm also writing a pure lemon Kaka-Saku fic at the same time that, well, can't be posted here because it's way too explicit (even for me) and on the kinky side. Check elsewhere for that one, pen name's always nottoca. But it'll be a week or two before I post it._

_I haven't actually read any Naruto past the time-skip and I've only watched the first hundred episodes or so. That means my story is probably not accurate cannon-wise, but it's how I imagine it._

_Disclaimer: I'm only going to say this once, 'cause I can never remember to do it in later chapters. I don't own Naruto, its characters or its plotlines. I'm just borrowing the characters for my own guilty pleasures. I receive no monetary compensation for said pleasures but a good deal of satisfaction. Not like that you perverts._

* * *

It had started when she had knocked on his door. No, actually she had assaulted his door, banging against it so hard she almost knocked it off the hinges. Knowing it was her (I mean really, who else would bang on his door like that?) Kakashi opened the door to see a very angry Sakura, and an angry Sakura was never a good thing. Brushing past him, his former student stalked over to his bookshelf filled with Icha Icha books and bent over to scan the titles. 

"Come in Sakura." The silver-haired shinobi said with a touch of sarcasm as he closed the door and turned to face her. "What can I do for you?" _Oh, please god, don't let it be him she was mad with because she was scary when she was mad._

Kakashi watched the pink-haired kunoichi as she ran a finger along the spines of his books, finding the irony in her searching through the books she so often enjoyed teasing him about. Intrigued, he leaned against the door and waited for an explanation, knowing if he waited long enough she would tell him. She turned, still looking rather upset and stared at her former sensei. Okay, he was pretty sure he wasn't the one she was mad with or she would have just hit him when he opened the door, but he definitely pitied the person who had angered her, whosoever that might be.

With an exasperated sigh, she moved to stand in front of him, reached around behind him and pulled the most recent Icha Icha book from his pouch. Holding it so he could see, she stabbed at the cover angrily with a painted fingernail. It showed a scantily clad pink-haired kunoichi leering suggestively at her companion, who bore a strong resemblance to Genma.

"Jiraiya! That dirty old pervert! Will you look at that picture! He put my image on the cover of his latest porn novel! _And_ I'm with Genma! I'm looking at Genma like that! Like I was going to eat him for dinner."

A small amused smirk appeared on his lips at the thought of how Genma would probably enjoy being eaten for dinner before quickly taking the book from her waving hands as she ranted and paced in the small confines of his apartment. Slipping the book back into his pocket he realized she was right. It did look like her and Genma; it was rather amazing he hadn't seen the resemblance before. With the way the female figure was looking at the male, it was entirely possible he didn't _want_ to see a resemblance; everyone knew Genma's reputation with women and she'd been on several missions with the man so she had to know what he was like, too.

His thoughts strayed back to the image of Sakura on the cover. If it was based on her, and the resemblance really was quite good, this could also explain the handwritten dedication in the front of his book.

_I wrote this one with you in mind, Kakashi. Enjoy it!--Jiraiya_

Damn it. He was an idiot not to notice the connection until she pointed it out; there was no doubt the woman had been modeled after Sakura. A small part of him wondered just how accurate those images were, but recalling the fire and gleam of revenge in her eyes, he easily pushed those thoughts to the back of his mind. For now, at least.

He'd noticed Genma's appearance because he'd shown up in a few books before this. But now as Kakashi finished his book, he would only be able to picture Sakura and Genma. As disturbing as it might be, there was no question that he would finish the book, he'd read every Icha Icha book written and he wasn't going to let a little resemblance to his friends stop him, even if one of them was Sakura.

But, back to the angry woman now pacing in his apartment.

"I need to borrow one of your Icha Icha books," she said.

"Oh?" he replied with a smirk she could see through his mask.

"Not for that, you pervert." She scowled at him. "I'm looking for a picture that resembles someone."

"And who might that be?"

She told him.

"Hnn… I believe I can help you with that, provided you don't let Jiraiya know I had anything to do with it." He said conditionally. "I don't want my Icha Icha privileges cut off." As soon as she had told him who he was looking for, he knew exactly what she had planned. It would be quite an effective plan, too, guaranteed for a painful revenge.

She nodded her head in agreement, her eyes glowing with a malicious gleam that again sent a cold shiver down his spine. He had just come to realize that Sakura had a vindictive side, and that, when combined with her high intelligence, well, it was scary. Once again, he was glad he wasn't the one she was mad at and how it would be in his best interest for him to stay on her good side.

He selected several specific volumes from the shelves and settled on the floor, his back against his bed and legs stretched out in front of him. She sat down next to him mimicking his position as he leafed through the well-thumbed pages of the first book. Quickly finding the right picture, he handed her the book and watched the expression on her face as she looked at the images.

Her eyes widened and a blush spread across her face. He couldn't help but lean over to get a better look at her face and to grin at her. He may not have wanted to get on her bad side, but he wasn't above teasing her.

"That's not who I'm looking for!" She dropped the book into his lap with a sniff. "Good god, my eyes are burning! It's just like him to put his own image in his book! I have a feeling a good portion of his physique was exaggerated."

"Oh, my mistake… I thought you might like seeing that picture." Kakashi was already flipping through another book. She grumbled and bumped him playfully with her shoulder, almost tipping him over.

"Kakashi! Stop making fun of me." she whined.

"But you want to see pictures of this other person nude?"

"I'll survive looking at those."

"Here, how about these? There are a couple of pages of them."

She glanced quickly at the pictures, trying to ignore the acts depicted there and concentrate on faces. Well, they were possibilities, but she had hoped to find a more accurate image.

"I suppose they'll work, but the facial resemblance isn't very good. Are there any more?"

Kakashi swiped the book from her fingertips, not even letting her close it. "You know, Sakura, you've always told me these are disgusting books and now you want me to share them with you. What kind of friend would I be to force you to look at such vile things?" He said with a teasing tone, setting the book on the floor on the other side of his legs, just out of her reach.

"They _are_ disgusting books. I just decided to come to the expert because I ended up on the cover of one of them and I want a bit of revenge!"

"But by just glancing at a few random pages you're overlooking their artistic value! You really need to read the whole thing to get the overall effect and see the genius behind them."

"Kakashi, these books don't _have_ artistic value and any man who would put my likeness on the cover of a porn novel is definitely not a genius." She stated emphatically and reached for another book from the stack. Opening the book to a random page, her eyes once again widened. She held the book open to show him the image. "Can that even be done?" she asked in surprise.

"Oh, yes." He confirmed with a glance. "This one's even better." He passed the book to her, watching intently for her reaction from the corner of his eye.

"Eeep!" She blushed and her eyes widened to the size of dinner plates as she quickly closed the book, setting it in her lap. She momentarily opened it again to get a second glance and closed it just as quickly. Kakashi's warm laugh filled the room.

"You showed me that on purpose!" she exclaimed indignantly, her face flushed almost to the same color as her hair.

"Of course I did. It's cute to see you blush like that."

"I didn't come to you to be teased, I need your help!" she said with a huff, looking rather put out.

"Very well, I'll stop teasing." He said and handed her the next book he opened to the pages with another potential candidate.

By the time they had searched through all the books from the pile and a few select ones still on the shelves, Sakura found one that best suited her need. Because Kakashi refused to let her borrow the book, she wrote down the title and headed off to the bookstore he told her had the best selection and would be most likely to have the one she was looking for. He had a good reason for refusing to lend it to her; it would most likely be damaged beyond repair when Sakura gave it to the person she had in mind.

And the person she had in mind? The Hokage herself.

When the Hokage saw her likeness portrayed in one of Jiraiya's 'perverted' books, well, let's just say Kakashi was very glad he wasn't Jiraiya.

But this had been the start. This was when Kakashi realized she'd really grown up. Grown up into a very smart, very resourceful woman. Not to mention a very well-developed woman. And while he tried to turn his thoughts away from the how his former student had been bent over to look at his bookshelf, he realized just how dangerous she could be to him. And he most definitely didn't want to be in Jiraiya's place in the near future.

* * *

Sakura dumped the shopping bag on the coffee table, spilling its contents across the polished surface. Three orange books stared back at her. After visiting Kakashi, most of her anger was gone, leaving only a slight irritability. How that man could calm her down was something she would never understand. Maybe it was because he generally didn't take everyday life seriously, something she hadn't learned to do yet. Or at least, he managed to appear that way. 

But it was no wonder she had trouble not caring when she had to deal with people like the clerk of the bookstore. Yes, she had verbally snapped at him but at least she hadn't injured the man. Even though he deserved it. The way he looked suggestively at her, like he was undressing her with his eyes made her feel like she needed a shower after merely speaking with him.

The books on her table right now didn't help with that feeling any. How could Kakashi read these things, much less be seen with them in public? There must be some sort of attraction or appeal that she didn't see, but then again, she hadn't actually read any of them either, she'd just looked at the pictures in a few of them. But now she was the rather ashamed owner of three of them.

One book was for Tsunade-shishou. That should fulfill Sakura's need for revenge while keeping her hands reasonably clean. She had learned that when working with Tsunade, the older woman's easily enraged temper could be useful at times. Especially for things like payback.

The second book purchased was the most recent one with her and Genma on the cover. Well… of course she had to buy it - she was on the cover! If that was what was pictured on the outside she couldn't help but wonder what had been written and depicted on the inside and if she was part of the story, she wanted to know about it. Call it morbid curiosity - well, actually, the only thing relatively morbid would be Jiraiya's state if the book got too bad.

The third book purchased was one that merely caught her eye, it was an impulsive purchase, picked up for some odd reason. It was also one of the orange Icha Icha series but there was something about it that made her purchase it as well as the others. Maybe it was the desire to figure out what Kakashi saw in them. Or maybe it was the image on the cover. Or the title. Who knows, she might never read it, depending on how the other one was.

Ah, well, she needed dinner before she could even think anymore about those books. She had to be at work early in the morning, so she wouldn't have enough time to completely read the one about her tonight although she could start it. But dinner first.

Rummaging through the cupboards, she found some of the instant ramen she kept around for Naruto. For some odd reason, ramen actually sounded good. Probably because she knew there was nothing to eat in her fridge. She had sauces and seasonings to put on food if she ever got some, but that would require going to the grocery store and in her fury, she'd forgotten about going to the grocery store until after she'd already gotten home.

So ramen it was.

Waiting for the water to boil, her mind was drawn back to the books. With a sigh, she picked up the most recent book and brought it back into the kitchen. She looked at the cover. Icha Icha Confessions. Strange. She hadn't looked at the title before, she had been too focused on the images.

Hmmm. The pink-haired figure wasn't exactly like her, but the style of the clothes and the cut of the hair gave a general impression of her. Jiraiya had been kind enough to give her a more voluptuous figure than reality had graced her with. And Genma, well, it was the long-ish hair and the fact he was sucking on a senbon that completed the resemblance. There were a great number of things she'd heard about Genma over the years. She'd also been assigned a few missions with him and all the rumors of his perverse personality were correct. She'd turned down all his propositions, although she wouldn't deny she had momentarily considering taking him up on one of those offers once or twice before. He really was a good looking man.

Damn it. The water was boiling over. Turning down the flame, she added the noodles and returned to checking out the book.

Genma had never been forceful, merely suggestive. But, she had to admit, he had a certain appeal. He was older, but still quite fine with the wiry strength and body of a shinobi. Ah, maybe one day when she just needed a good lay. She _had_ heard wonderful things about his skill with his lips and mouth.

She gave the noodles a stir, leaned back against the counter and opened the book to start reading.

* * *

_Reviews would be appreciated and they help motivate me to update quicker (I'll update eventually no matter what cause I hate abandoned fics)._


	2. Chapter 2

_Thank you to all the people who were kind enough to review and those who put me on their story update list!

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_

Sakura stared at the orange-covered book on her desk. There were impressive piles of papers on either side of the book and she knew she should be working on those rather than thinking about that book. Piles of files, charts, reports, miscellaneous journals, and more things she even cared to think about stacked into two wobbly towers.

Arriving at work early this morning, she had snuck into Tsunade-shishou's office and had planted the book on her desk, weighing it open to the pages displaying the images resembling her large-breasted teacher. At least the dirty old man had been smart enough to not put _her_ likeness on the cover, however he had been dumb enough to include her likeness inside them. And he had underestimated the resourcefulness and desire for vengeance this little pink haired kunoichi possessed.

Just why she had brought this other orange book to work was unclear. She could rationalize she'd just picked it up with the copy for shishou except she'd been reading this one in her bedroom last night and she had left shishou's copy on the coffee table. That meant there was no way the two of them could both have _accidentally_ fallen into her bag.

The third book she'd hidden safely away. Nothing said guilt and embarrassment like hiding something in your underwear drawer.

Why was she having such problems with this? She was old enough to legally purchase the books; had been for years. She was a mednin who understood the workings of the human body and she'd even had a few boyfriends willing to help further her knowledge of human anatomy and such things. Hell, she'd probably done some of the things in those books. Well, after recalling some of the images Kakashi had taken such joy in teasing her with, she had probably only done a few of the more basic depictions. Why he enjoyed teasing her, she'd never know.

But the books held a certain fascination for her. These were what her sensei had been reading all these years. Even when sparing, he had continued reading one of those books. At least he used to. Once they had all made jounin he actually needed to pay attention to their practices. For Sakura, just examining the first few pages of that book had her blushing yet he was able to read them with an almost bored expression on his face. (Excepting a giggle here and there, but they were an uncommon occurrence and more than a little unnerving.) Surely he wasn't that cold and uninterested in real relationships. In all the years she'd known him, she'd only seen him date a few women casually. Certainly no one long-term.

She couldn't see why; he could have any woman he wanted. A man who looked as good as he did would never have trouble finding a woman and the mask only added to his general air of mystery. From his injuries on missions, she'd seen him without select pieces of clothing and while his body was quite scarred, he was also unbelievably sexy. His body was better built than a good number of younger shinobi, and the way his pants clung to his ass… sometimes it was just begging to be slapped.

Oh, my god! What was she thinking? She bent over to set her elbows on her desk, resting her forehead in her hands. Was she thinking these things about Kakashi-sensei? What was she doing sitting behind her desk at work thinking about how good Kakashi's ass looked? It must be the little orange book sitting on her desk. Yep, that book had already corrupted her nice clean mind.

_Oh, face it; your mind has never been that clean. _

Who asked you?

_You grew up with a teacher that read porn in public and a teammate who trained with Jiraiya and says the first thing that comes into his mind whether it's dirty or not. And it's usually dirty._

Oh, shut up.

And apparently that little orange book had also brought out a hidden desire for older men. Men she'd known since she was a teenager. But they were just so drop-dead gorgeous! Her dreams last night had been filled with a half-naked Genma doing unbelievably erotic things to her, touching her in some very private and wonderfully sensitive places. And she had really, really liked it. If in real life he was anywhere close to as good as he was in her dreams…

She groaned, grabbed the book and shoved it into a drawer. There was no way she could read this outside her home. She never should have removed the book from her apartment. Banishing all dirty thoughts from her mind, she turned to her stacks of paper and attacked the first one, hoping to get enough done in the next hour before rounds so she could leave a bit early. And take that orange book with her.

* * *

Throughout the day, Sakura's thoughts continued to return to that book. She had only read through the first three chapters last night, but she'd become completely engrossed in them. Her blush had faded away by the time she reached the second chapter, replaced with a keen interest. The only thing that bothered her was some of the images. They looked too much like her and Genma doing some very dirty things. Apparently enjoyable, but quite dirty images that had continued into her dreams. 

There wasn't much of a storyline for the book, which wasn't surprising. It mostly consisted of Saruka jumping Jemna various places around town, where she was panting and/or screaming his name. It became more and more obvious that Jiraiya was not that original in his character naming or his plotlines, but in reality, unlike the book, she had never jumped Genma…

She had to admit, some of Jiraiya's drawings were pretty hot and even though the plot was predictable, as she read the book she found herself becoming more and more aroused. By the time she'd completed the third chapter she was in need of some release with no ready male companion to assist her. Or female if she'd leaned that way.

It was at this point she took a look at her life. She was alone right now and had been for the past few months. Her last date had been a disaster and she'd decided to give up on the whole dating thing for a while, meaning she also gave up sex. She couldn't even remember the last time she'd had sex. But thanks to the little orange book, there was now an idea stirring in her head.

For the past few years Genma had pestered her for dates, and never fazed by her constant rejection, he continued to ask. She knew he held no desire for a committed relationship, only a quick bit of release which was something she found herself in desperate need of right now. So what would be the harm? And then she could see if those drawn pictures of them were accurate.

Like the scene in the shower…

Oh, god! She had to stop doing this!

(mental slap)

Back to work, back to work, think about the broken leg and not what Genma's mouth could do to her body…

(mental slap)

Try it again. Concentrate. This man's bone is sticking out of his leg, now is not the time to be thinking about how hot Genma's mouth would be against her cool skin. Or Kakashi's ass. His nice rounded…

(mental slap)

Leg. Leg. Leg. Leg. Just think about repairing this leg. Think of something disgusting, something to stop thinking about sex.

She took a deep breath.

Jiraiya! That's it; think about Jiraiya… with very few clothes on… no, naked… in a very cold place…

Unconsciously she made a very rude snorting sound. When she realized she'd done it out loud, she quickly tried to smother the noise with a cough. The aide assisting her gave her a strange look, but didn't say anything.

Sakura wasn't sure what was worse, being haunted by dirty images of Genma and Kakashi or thinking of Jiraiya cold and naked. She sighed; this was going to be a very, very long day.

* * *

"Sakura-chan!" She had just stepped outside the front doors of the hospital to see the exuberant blond man jump off a nearby retaining wall and come to greet her with a hug big enough lift her off the ground. 

"Naruto! Let go – can't breathe!" She managed to gasp out, trying to push the overenthusiastic man away.

"Oh, sorry." He smiled sheepishly and released her to scratch the back of his head, slightly embarassed. She panted for a few moments, trying to regain her breath.

"How was the mission?" she was finally able to gasp out.

"Oh, nothing out of the ordinary. You know, kill a few people, steal a scroll, fight for your life, kill a few more people, the usual."

Sakura smiled at the strange look they got from a civilian couple leaving the hospital. While Konoha was the Hidden Leaf village, there were a number of people who had minimal exposure to the shinobi and considered their way of life rather strange. Not to mention their odd topics for conversation and casual treatment of killing things.

"I just dropped off my report to Tsunade-no-baachan, and since Hinata's still on her mission, I thought I'd see if you want to grab dinner."

"So I was your second choice?" she said, pretending to be irritated.

"Ummm… yeah?" he asked with a worried look, actually picking up on her irritation but not quite sure why.

She bumped him playfully with her shoulder. "I guess that's okay. Ramen at Ichiraku?"

"What else?" His usual grin made her smile. After all these years, his personality hadn't changed much. Physically he was a tall, strong, well-built man who had started to turn heads, but to her he was still the same old Naruto. Over-enthusiastic and determined to get what he wanted.

"How are things going with Hinata?"

"Great, but she won't be back for another week. It's just not the same without her around…"

Naruto and Hinata had only started dating about a year earlier. Out of the blue, Hinata's father had told her about a marriage the family elders had arranged for her and, after more than twenty years, she had finally confronted him. Of course, before she actually stood up to her father, she had been listening to Sakura, Ino and Tenten telling her for the last ten of those years that she needed to be more assertive and to do what _she_ wanted.

But the day had finally come, so telling her father she no longer wanted to be the family heir, she said Hanabi was more than capable of taking her place and she stormed out of the house. After walking around a short while to build up her courage again, she marched over to Naruto's and asked if he wanted to go on a date with her. The rather stunned man, still oblivious to the fact the girl had had a crush on him for the past ten years, had agreed and they'd quickly become almost inseparable, to the point that she had moved in with him. Sakura was proud of her friend and figured it was only a matter of time before Naruto asked her to marry him and if he didn't soon, who knows, maybe Hinata would find her courage again and ask _him_.

"Can we stop by the jounin headquarters first? I want to see if i've been assigned any new escort missions." Sakura asked, leading the way. Escort missions tended to be the only ones a shinobi would have advance notice on. They were subject to change, of course, depending on assignments to more short-notice and urgent missions of other sorts.

"Okay!" He replied enthusiastically. His hands were entwined behind his head, his elbows stuck out to the sides and his face pointed to the clouds. As they walked, Sakura could sense he had something he wanted to talk about.

"Spit it out, Naruto. I can tell you're going to explode soon if you don't ask me whatever question you have that's been bothering you."

"Ah… You know me too well, Sakura-chan." he laughed nervously and glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. "I was wondering if you've seen Jiraiya's latest _Icha Icha_ book."

"_Icha Icha Confessions_? Yep, I saw it and took care of it."

"Took care of it?" Naruto turned his head to look at her. "What'd you do?"

The evil smirk that spread across her face sent a shiver down his spine. "I found one of his older books that had an image of shishou in it and left it for her to find. She's threatened everyone in the hospital that if they heal him in the slightest during the next two weeks they'll have to answer to her."

Naruto gave her a wide-eyed expression. "Wow. Remind me not to piss you off."

"Damn straight." She said with a nod. "I can take you apart and refuse to fix you when I'm done."

Naruto smiled nervously. Kakashi-sensei was right, Sakura could be scary sometimes.

By this time they'd made it into headquarters and entered the general lounge. Sakura went right for the posting board while Naruto called out a greeting to Shikamaru and stood talking with his old friend. Concentrating on the board, she didn't even notice Genma lean against the wall to study her.

"Sakura…" She turned her head and was surprised to see him standing next to her.

"Genma." She nodded her head politely in greeting.

"I was wondering if you'd like to get a drink with me sometime." Sakura's full attention turned to the senbon-sucking man. Apparently he'd also seen the latest _Icha Icha_.

Her eyes settled on his lips. She'd heard great things about his mouth from other women while in the baths. She also knew how he tended to go through a new woman every week, which, right now would be a good thing. Just a one night stand, something to ease her sexual frustrations, all brought about by that stupid book.

For the first time, she now seriously considered his offer. He was quite a bit older, maybe older than even Kakashi, but like Kakashi, he really didn't look it. She was into her twenties herself and a relationship with an older man didn't sound as odd as it had a few years ago. Besides, it wouldn't be relationship exactly. She had no illusions that just going for a drink would lead up to bed and that the next morning he would disappear and right now it sounded like exactly what she needed.

And if he was half as good as Jiraiya had portrayed in that book…

"Sure." She replied, a playful glint in her eyes.

"How about tonight?" he had moved a little closer and she could catch his faint scent, pleasing and slightly musky.

"Okay, where?"

"How about the Corner Bar that all the shinobi frequent? Around eight?"

She nodded and gave him a smile. "Sounds good-" Sakura's voice cut off by Naruto dragging her away. "Hey, Naruto, what do you think you're doing?" When he finally stopped to look at her he spoke in a harsh whisper.

"Sakura! Were you making a date with Genma?"

"Yeah, tonight after dinner." She stopped in surprise. The blond boy was growling, anger apparent in his eyes as they took on the harsh glow from the fox. "What are you doing?" she said, smacking him on the back of the head. "I don't need any of that 9-tails territorial-crap right now. I'm your friend, not your lover."

"Oww! Sakura-chan!" He grumbled and rubbed the back of his head, his eyes returning to normal. "Its Genma! We've been on missions with him! You know what he's like! What were you doing making a date with him?

"You're sounding like an over-protective mother, Naruto."

"You know he's only after one thing!"

"Of course I know," she said looking annoyed. "That's why I want to go out with him."

"Sakura-chan?" His eyes wide, he looked at her like she had just grown another head and it had started singing Broadway show tunes.

"Naruto, I can't remember the last time I had a date, much less sex! Between missions and working at the hospital, there just hasn't been time for anything else. Right now, I have an itch that he can scratch." She pulled him out of the building. "Now hurry up or I won't have time for dinner before meeting him at the bar." A rather dazed Naruto followed obediently behind her.

Leaving so quickly, they didn't even notice as Kakashi also pulled his friend aside.

* * *

_I'm currently thinking 5 chapters in this fic – provided it doesn't go lemon on me. I'm _really, really_ trying to make this a sweet story without a lemon. Sigh. Fine. More chapters if it lemons out. For some stupid reason I keep equating a happy ending with sex. To have a happy ending, there must be sex. _

_Alright, check back to see which side wins the Lemon War._

_And a review would be nice… please. Let me know it's worth continuing._


	3. Chapter 3

_Thanks for adding me to your update list and a bigger thanks to those who left reviews! I absolutely love coming home and finding reviews in my inbox. (hint hint)

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_

The Corner Bar was one of the more popular hang-out spots for Kohona's ninja population. Any place that could manage, with the assistance of numerous well placed mirrors, for a person to sit anywhere in the bar and still find a view of the door would be a hit with shinobi of all ages. Unlike in the general public, paranoia was a good thing for a ninja to develop; the consequences of not being aware of your surroundings could be fatal. And the fact the bar didn't serve watered down drinks helped with the bar's popularity, but, as any sane person knows, serving a ninja a watered down drink could get messy so most of the bars in Konoha shied away from such practices.

Sakura sat waiting with her drink, alone at a table where she could look directly at the door. Her eyes rose every time that door opened and every time it wasn't Genma, she grew a little bit more angry. Even from across the room, Kakashi could see her growing irritation, but then again, he knew her well enough to recognize several warning signs of her temper; her fidgeting, bouncing leg and quick and impatient sips from her sake cup.

He unobtrusively glanced at the watch on the wrist of the man at the next table. Forty-five minutes late. Now would be the best time to check on her, before she got mad enough to explode and send shrapnel everywhere. Genma became yet another person to add to his list of people he was glad he wasn't. Of course, Genma had already been on the list for other reasons.

He got up and stopped at the bar to get himself another drink before wandering over toward Sakura's table. Looking down at her, he silently gestured to the empty chair and she nodded. Sitting down, he raised his hand and signaled to the waitress to get Sakura another drink.

"Any reason you're sitting here all alone, Sakura?" He asked, pulling his mask down for a microsecond, the only time necessary take a quick sip of his drink. Even blatantly staring at his face, Sakura didn't have time to see anything usually hidden by the cloth.

"I was supposed to have a date with Genma, but he's late." She growled. "Have you seen him anywhere?"

"I think I saw him at headquarters this afternoon." Kakashi tried to sound casual.

"He was supposed to meet me here 45 minutes ago!"

"Could he have been assigned an emergency mission?"

"Surely he would have sent me a message in that case. Or at the very least, found me for a quick grope."

"So I guess you've been stood up then."

"No! I haven't been stood up," she replied vehemently. After a moment of hesitation she continued speaking a bit softer, "At least… I didn't think so..." Genma had been the one to ask her, surely he wouldn't stand her up. She took another sip of her sake, her eyes downcast and staring at an invisible spot on the table while her mind worked. At least, she hadn't _thought_ he would stand her up until Kakashi had suggested it.

"You going to be okay?" He asked, studying the girl carefully with his lone eye. He really hated seeing her so obviously miserable and quiet.

"Yeah," she sighed softly, all her previous anger gone. Her hands were still playing idly with her cup and a dejected look settled on her face. "There has to be something wrong with me that I can't find the right guy, Kakashi. Do I look bad? Do I smell funny? I know I get angry sometimes and I have a quick temper. Am I really such an undesirable woman?" She stopped speaking only long enough to down her almost full cup of sake in one swallow before continuing. "Even Naruto found a girlfriend! The biggest, loudest, most annoying man in Konoha found someone who loves him. What's wrong with me?" She looked up at her friend with a pleading look, hoping he could give her just the slightest clue.

The slightly surprised man stared at her for a moment, unsure of the best way to reassure her. In a very un-Kakashi-like gesture, he reached up to tuck a stray strand of pink hair behind her ear, allowing his finger to brush against her cheek, his single eye locked with hers, a small happy eye-crease visible above the mask.

"Maybe you just haven't found the right man yet." His words were soft and low, quiet to the point she could barely hear them and they sent a shiver down her spine. Or was it from the touch of his finger on her bare skin? "And any man who doesn't find you beautiful has absolutely no taste in women." she blushed lightly, smiled and looked back into her cup.

"Thank you." she sighed. "I suppose I should be more patient. Surely there is someone out there for me."

"I know there is."

"Thank you Kakashi-sensei."

_Sensei._

For a moment, he had almost forgotten she had been his student. He pulled his hand back and took another lightning fast sip from his cup.

She stared silently at her own cup for a moment before forcing a small smile and speaking. "You should have seen Naruto this afternoon. He was more upset with me for accepting Genma's date than I've seen him since Sasuke left. You aren't upset that Genma asked me out, are you?"

"Not particularly. You're a grown woman and I figure you can make your own choices. Besides, you could probably hurt him quite badly if he tried something without your permission."

"I really expected Naruto to show up here to try to stop Genma from doing anything inappropriate. You don't suppose he hurt or threatened Genma? I thought he was more annoyed than upset."

"I doubt it. Naruto's more the sort to try and ruin the date after it starts."

"Good point. He seems to have a special skill at being annoying."

"It's one of his specialties. At least he finally learned to tone it down a little, although he rarely chooses to do so." The door opened again and in walked two familiar faces. "Speak of the devil." Kakashi said softly. He gave the pair his familiar hand wave and verbal greeting as the boys made their way toward their table.

"I expected you would come here and try to stop my date, Naruto, And look, you even stopped to pick up your boyfriend on the way." Sakura said acidly, her annoyance written clearly across her face.

When Sasuke had first come back, he and Naruto's fierce competitions had become even stronger than before but they'd also developed a strong friendship. For a while it had become rare to see one without the other. At the time there had been a good number of rumors about the pair having a romantic relationship, something they both adamantly denied. Sasuke was now dating a civilian girl and Naruto was living with Hinata so the rumors had died down, at least until Sakura felt like bringing them up again.

"It's not like that and you know it!" Naruto said crossly while Sasuke just gave her his annoyed glare.

She smirked. "You're right, I do know it; I just enjoy giving you a hard time now and then. Especially since that's what you are here to do to me during my date."

"So," Naruto spoke as he looked around as casually as he could, considering he was Naruto. "I don't see Genma anywhere. Did Kakashi-sensei chase him off for you?"

Sakura's expression turned to one of irritation.

"No… he just hasn't shown up yet." Kakashi said softly, trying to hint to Naruto with his voice that Sakura was a little on edge from the absence of a certain shinobi.

Naruto, of course, didn't get it.

"Or did _you_ chase him off Sakura?" Naruto laughed loudly, apparently missing the signal of Sasuke kicking him increasingly harder in the leg to get him to stop talking. Sasuke finally gave up and resorted to smacking him in the back of the head.

"Shut up, dobe." He grumbled, surprising the rising anger right out of Sakura. At least Sasuke was observant enough to notice the two empty bottles of sake on the table and the rapidly disappearing third one next to it. While Sakura could hold her liquor, the more she drank, the more difficult it became for her to hold her temper at the same time, and as they all knew, Sakura's temper could be rather explosive.

"Why did you even agree to go out with him?" Sasuke asked, studying her face intently.

When Sasuke had first returned, he and Sakura had tried dating and much to their mutual surprise, they couldn't get rid of the teammate feelings between them, turning their relationship into something like that of a brother and sister. Like Naruto, this left Sasuke a bit on the over protective side of his pink-haired teammate. Sasuke also knew Genma's real side; the things he talked about with his male acquaintances that Sakura had (hopefully) never heard. In Sasuke's mind, Genma was nowhere near good enough to date Sakura and shouldn't be allowed within 10 feet of her.

The girl shrugged before answering his question. "I haven't been out on a date for quite some time now."

"Sakura-chan, you could date any guy you want! Why Genma?"

She gave an unlady-like snort. "If I could date any guy I want, why am I alone and stuck sitting here with you three?" She took another sip from her cup and refilled it from the small rapidly-emptying bottle.

"But Genma? You know he's a womanizer." Sasuke asked. "Whatever possessed you to agree?"

"What possessed me?" Sakura asked, slightly annoyed. "It's a little orange book that possessed me. A little orange pornographic book that just happens to contain drawings and a story with me as a main character. It's all about me and a guy who looks just like Genma fucking in every position and place imaginable. Hell, I hadn't ever known about or ever thought of doing most of the things in that book until now. But it's made me realize how lonely I am. And if I can't find the right guy to have an actual relationship with, I might as well get some affection from Genma. I have no doubt that he is an expert at a great number of those positions."

Sasuke's blank stare only irritated her more. "I don't follow."

"Oh, for god's sake, I just want to get laid, damn it!" She said loudly with exasperated tone.

It was one of those moments where the volume of rest of the bar had coincidentally lowered while her frustration had her speaking louder, leaving her words echoing through the room. Wide-eyed with horror, she stared at her friends. Sasuke's expression had finally turned to one of surprise and even Kakashi looked amused. Naruto got a good laugh at his friend's reactions, almost to the point of falling off his chair.

"She said the same thing to me earlier!"

The rest of the bar didn't look quite as amused at her loud outburst as her friends did. Most of the women gave her dirty looks while many of the men just drooled and stared. Much to her embarrassment, there were a few cat calls thrown in.

"Oh, god," she mumbled, covering her face with her hands as if she could hide from everyone. "I just mean that guys aren't the only ones who think about sex all the time. Girls need it too. And that's all I want right now." She sighed and glanced up to see the three of them still staring at her. "I don't even know why I hang around with you guys. I'll just see you at practice tomorrow."

Sakura quickly stood up, tossed some money on the table for her drinks and left as rapidly and quietly as possible, something made difficult by all the propositions she got from the men she passed.

Realizing it was best to let her leave alone, the three men sat silently staring at each other.

"You guys don't think she'd actually do something like that, do you?" Naruto finally asked.

"With Sakura, it's hard to tell." Sasuke said, a slightly worried look on his face. "But she's usually not one to say something she doesn't mean."

"She's old enough to make that choice for herself." Kakashi spoke up.

"So you'd let her go out with Genma, Kakashi-sensei? Aren't you here to stop them, too?" Naruto asked.

"I didn't say I approved of it but I didn't say I would stop them either. It's her choice to make and regardless of our opinions, she _will_ do what she wants. It's her life."

"But we can always try to persuade her otherwise." Sasuke said softly.

"May I suggest trying that when she is in a more, ah… receptive state? Some time when she's not drunk? If you insist on speaking to her tonight you're a braver man than I am." Kakashi said, finishing off his drink. "And let me know how that works out and what room I can visit you at in the hospital." With a small puff of smoke, he was gone.

After a moment of silence, Naruto stared across the table at his dark-haired friend. "He hasn't paid for his drinks yet, has he?"

Sasuke looked over at the bartender waiving a slip of paper at them. "Nope. Cheap-bastard-Kakashi strikes again."

* * *

Sakura sighed, inhaling a deep breath of the cool night air and allowing it to clear her head a little. She was willing to admit she'd had a little too much to drink while waiting for Genma. Two bottles was about her limit and she'd almost had three.

But what was with all the guys this evening? They were driving her crazy! So she had said she was looking for someone she only wanted to have sex with, what's so wrong with that? It's not like she was a leper or something. And what's wrong with a woman needing sex too? Men could get away with such things, but when a woman said it…

Sakura stopped to lean against a lamp post, looking around unobtrusively. Someone was watching her; she'd felt it for the past five minutes. And the presence felt slightly familiar, she just couldn't tell who it was with her drunken chakra right now.

Ah, forget it. It didn't feel menacing; it was probably just her imagination. Besides, she was in the middle of Konoha, safe within the walls of her hometown and only a few more blocks from her apartment. Straightening up, she continued on her way home, not noticing the dark silhouette following her on the rooftops.

Sakura was standing on the steps of her apartment building before she realized she hadn't seen Kakashi with his little orange companion at all this evening. Even when conversing with him one on one, he always had one of those books open, except for at the bar. He rarely missed a word that was said to him, but it was always a little annoying that he would appear to pay more attention to his book than whoever was speaking.

Apparently, tonight, for some reason, she had held his undivided attention.

* * *

The figure outside watched until the light had turned on in Sakura's apartment before disappearing.

* * *

_Nope no lemon yet. I had to split this chapter up into 2 because it just got too long. I'll try to get the next one up by the end of the week._

_I would have loved to have actually written_ Icha Icha Confessions _and switched between passages of reality and the book, but I'm not that good a writer and that would have bumped the rating up and I'm determined not to write a lemon. Maybe I'll write it at a later date… Hmmmm… maybe I could then do a rewrite and combine them but it would have to be posted somewhere other than FF(dot)net (my lemons have gotten rather explicit and kinda kinky). Or maybe I won't._

_And to kaetea: I suppose a story can end with sex but without having a lemon, but where's the fun in that?! I love writing lemons!_

_Please leave a review and let me know what you think!_


	4. Chapter 4

_Thank you so much for the reviews and putting me on your alert lists! It's such a nice feeling to know people actually enjoy my writing!_

_Warning: I can't write action scenes unless there is sex involved – in other words, my fight scenes will be rather vague. Yet another area I should be developing instead of writing lemons left and right. _

_Sigh. And in case you were wondering, yes I will put a lemon in this one. Darn it, I absolutely cave when it comes to peer-pressure (although it didn't take very much to twist my arm). I never meant for this fic to get as long as it has – it started as a short 3 pg fic and now I'm looking at 8 ch. w/o lemon (add one or two ch. for that). I really like the basic premise behind it and since it's become my first Sakura-Kakashi ch. fic and I'm putting a fair amount of effort into, I'll let myself write a lemon. I'll try another __shorter__ fic sometime w/o one. But the lemon will be at the very end so people who don't like lemons can just not read that part._

_Eventually, all my plotbunnies seem to turn into smutbunnies and I think I'm just going to follow them anyway.

* * *

_

"Genma!" Sakura exclaimed, staring at the injured man making his way down the hospital hallway toward her. He had a slight limp and his arm was still resting in a sling. She could see the remains of bruises, now faded to pale, ugly purple, green and yellow splotches that would disappear in the next day or two.

"What happened to you?" She reached for the binders of patient information on the counter of the nurses' station and flipped through the loose-leaf pages. Genma had been admitted last night around 18:30 with a broken arm, a hairline fracture of his hip, a mild concussion and various cuts and abrasions.

"Let's say I encountered a jealous boyfriend who took out some of his deep-seated frustrations and insecurities on me."

Sakura couldn't help but smile at that. Genma had a habit of hitting on anything female, regardless of their marital status; often creating male enemies wherever he went.

"Did I tell you how pleased I was that you finally accepted?" he asked. "And then it turns out I couldn't show. Are you mad at me?" He hung his head trying (and succeeding) to look pitiful.

"I was, but you have a good excuse so I'll forgive you this time." She leaned against the counter and looked at him. Even injured, he still had the whole 'Genma' attitude: that whole I'm-so-sexy and confident look that made her want to tear off his clothes just to get a better peek. And the senbon, still in his mouth, reminded her of his oral-fixation with every move it made.

His words brought her out of her daydream, "Can we reschedule?"

"Ah, yeah, I think we can do that, but you're going to have to wait a few days until you've recovered though."

"Maybe I can convince a beautiful pink-haired medic-nin to give me a check up tomorrow and see how I'm doing?" The smirk on his face filled her mind with possibilities that made her body absolutely ache to be touched.

"Mmmm… sounds like fun," she said playfully, a smile creeping across her face. She reached up, took the senbon from his mouth and pulled him down for a kiss. After a moment of surprise, he masterfully took control, his tongue caressing her lips slowly, begging for entrance to her mouth. Her lips parted slightly, and that was all the room he needed to slip between them, his tongue sweeping through her mouth, teasing her own and running quickly over her teeth.

Breaking away, she moved her lips up to whisper softly in his ear, "I'll see you tomorrow, then."

"Ummm, yeah, 'til then." He said quickly before rapidly hobbling away. His face had taken on a strange look, a bit of the color drained away.

As she watched him hurry away, the first thing that ran through her mind had been that the kiss hadn't felt quite right; something was off. She couldn't pin down what it was, it hadn't been sloppy or too wet, he hadn't held her too tightly and there were no problems with bumping noses. Yes, the kiss felt good, but it just… well, it wasn't right.

_Who cares if it feels right as long as you get some sex? You never really wanted a long term relationship with Genma – you know he would never be faithful. Remember 'I have an itch that he can scratch'? That's all you need from him._

I suppose you're right.

_Something spooked him, hopefully it wasn't the kiss. _

She sighed, turned around and shrieked, the echo bouncing down the hall and startling the nurse behind the desk enough to drop her pen on the floor.

"Yo."

"Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura said sharply. "Did you _have_ to sneak up on me?"

"I didn't sneak up on you; you just weren't paying attention." He said, looking at her with his usual, droopy-eyed stare.

"What are you doing in a hospital, anyway? I usually have to drag you here kicking and screaming when you need treatment for something I can't fix in the field."

"I received an urgent summons from the Hokage and now that I've made my appearance at her office, I thought I'd see if you were ready to go to practice."

"Oh!" She cried out. "I almost forgot about that. I'm sorry, this time I was almost the one who was late. Let me just get my things and I'll be back in a minute."

Setting Genma's chart on the counter, she hurried to the locker room, unsure of just how long Kakashi was willing to wait around in a hospital. As soon as the girl was gone, he tapped the shoulder of the nurse, who had resumed writing in the notebook and told her that if Sakura returned, kindly let her know he would be back in just a minute. With a little wave and a poof of smoke, he was gone.

Moments later, there was a shriek from down the hall and the nurse was immediately on her feet trying to figure out which of her patients could have made the sound. Waiting to hear the sound again so she could pinpoint its origin, the nurse's eyes looked for any sign of movement down the hall, finding only Sakura in her daily clothing jogging toward her.

"Haruno-san, did you hear a scream?"

Sakura hesitated before shaking her head. "Sorry Suki, but I didn't hear anything. What happened to the man I was just talking to?"

"Oh, he said to wait and he'd be back in just a second." The confused woman returned to the nurses' station and took a seat. "I would have sworn I heard something…" she mumbled softly before changing the subject. "Is that your boyfriend, Haruno-san?" The Suki asked probingly. "He's awfully cute."

"No, he's my former-teacher-turned-teammate."

"Mmmmm…" the nurse practically purred. "Do you know if he's dating anyone?"

Just as Sakura opened her mouth, Kakashi appeared in a little puff of smoke and again giving Sakura his usual hand-wave and greeting.

"Where did you disappear off to?"

"I needed to visit the little shinobi's room." Kakashi explained. "I know how you don't like us peeing on the trees during practices."

"Well not while I'm watching, I don't. What you do out of my sight is your own business."

"She's kind of a prude about those things." Kakashi using a loud whisper to explain to the grinning nurse.

"I wouldn't let Tsunade-sama know about that. She may make Haruno-san do nothing but insert catheters for a while." Suki said in an amused tone.

"Very funny, Suki. I'll see you tomorrow. That is if my _sensei_ is done teasing me."

"Yep, I think I've just about covered it." He smiled, tipped his head and gave the nurse a happy eye-crease. "Nice to meet you, Suki," He said as he and Sakura left the hospital. As they took off running to the practice field, he noticed a slightly puzzled look on Sakura's face that he would have to ask her about later.

* * *

At the training grounds, Kakashi split the group for their first one-on-one match; he against Naruto and Sakura against Sasuke. For the second match, as always for their one-on-one sparing routine, Kakashi would fight with Sakura leaving Naruto and Sasuke to kill each other. Okay, well, come within two seconds of killing each other, something Kakashi would later critique while Sakura healed them. 

As soon as Kakashi and Naruto took off, Sakura turned to Sasuke with a glimmer in her eye. "Ready?"

He smirked and nodded once. Both dashed off into the trees, appearing only momentarily for blows. Each strike was blocked skillfully and easily as they warmed up, each testing the other's response time. Knowing where they stood, the blows became more aimed, more lethal as they put real effort into it, nothing at their full-out strength, but dangerous enough. Especially when they started talking.

"You weren't really going to date Genma, were you?" Sasuke asked between blows.

"Jealous?"

"No." he asked gruffly. "Well? Were you really going to date him?"

"Sasuke, it really isn't any of your business."

"Were you?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"I wanted to have sex with him. I still do."

"Is that all?"

"Need there be more?"

"He's Genma!"

"I know he's older, but mmmm… You've got to admit he's got a nice body."

"Can't say I've ever looked at him like that."

"You should, it's a great picture."

"Seriously?"

"I still want to fuck him, Sauske."

Her comment was met with silence. _Hmmm…_ maybe_ she would just have to shock him into leaving her alone about it. _The look on his face still said he wasn't satisfied with her responses.

"I want to fuck him six ways from Sunday."

Silence.

"Have wild sex while swinging from a chandelier."

More silence.

"I want to tie him to the bed and so I can lick every inch of his naked body... and then-"

"You can shut up already, I get the point," he growled.

"I don't know that you do. My sex life is my business," she said as her kick caught Sasuke behind his knees, sending him falling backwards into the dirt. Not even hesitating, Sakura landed a punch onto the ground next to his head, cracking the earth and leaving long jagged crevasses.

Straightening up, she offered Sasuke a hand and easily pulled him to his feet. He nodded, "As long as it doesn't disrupt the team, I'll respect your choices and stay out of it."

"Thanks, Sasuke." She said and pulled him toward the large rock to wait for Kakashi and Naruto to finish their battle.

* * *

As with Sasuke, she was only minutes into her fight with Kakashi before he initiated a conversation; something of a first for him. 

"I thought I saw Genma at the hospital. Something wrong with him?"

"Oh, yeah. He got beat up by a jealous boyfriend." She dodged a punch. "Whoever he was, that boyfriend must have been quite a skilled nin to inflict those injuries on Genma because he's no slouch himself."

"Hnn." Kakashi acknowledged her statement.

"Think it could have been Asuma?" (Oh, yeah, he's alive in my fic 'cause I haven't gotten that far in the manga and it's my fic so I can do that. I'm enjoying this "I'm the author" stuff.)

"Even Genma isn't that stupid." Kakashi said with a snort.

"Yeah, the injuries weren't all that severe. Wonder what the other guy looks like." Sakura said as she dodged a handful of shurikens, blocking several with her kunai. "I bet he looks even worse than Genma does."

"Hnn." Kakashi landed a blow on her side that left him open for a slice with a kunai, a move he would never have tried if he had really been giving their fight his whole concentration. Given that opening, Sakura quickly had him pinned against a tree, one kunai held at his throat and another over his heart, positioned exactly between his ribs. When he realized his position he moved his head against the tree, raising his hitai-ate enough for her to see his Sharingan. In the split second before she could avert her gaze, the red eye started spinning and she knew she had lost.

There was only enough time for her to breathe a soft swear before the darkness closed in on her.

* * *

As a ninja, one had to be aware of their surroundings before making a move, especially when one wakes up in a strange position. The first thing is to figure out where you are and why you're there. Awake but unmoving, Sakura analyzed her surroundings without opening her eyes, trying to give the impression she was still asleep. First thing she noticed was that she was outdoors, lying on her back with something soft cushioning her head. The slight prickle of grass and the rustle of leaves on the trees gave her another clue. She could feel the warmth of the sun on her face with moving spots of shade provided by the leaves above. Her head was resting on something and from the warmth, it was most likely someone's lap and whoever it was, the person was stroking her hair, a soft and soothing gesture that relaxed her. And she could smell… Kakashi. 

"I know you're awake, Sakura."

His hand stopped running through her hair and she found immediately that she missed it. Realizing she'd been found out, she slowly opened her eyes to look up at Kakashi's smiling face. Well, actually, all she saw was his mask and an eye-crease.

"You cheated." She grumbled as his attention returned to the orange book in his hand. It felt nice lying like this. She'd had another restless night filled with dreams of naked Genmas and Kakashis doing rather enjoyable things to her. How did Kakashi even show up in her dreams? Genma she could understand since he was in the book she was reading, but Kakashi was different; although his actions had felt just as good. She flushed slightly, embarrassed by such thoughts about the man who currently cradled her head in his lap. And the man who'd been stroking her hair.

"I didn't cheat. I only use the Sharingan as a last resort and our fight had progressed to that point. Besides, _you_ weren't holding anything back, were you?"

Looking up she saw that he had returned to reading his book and she sighed. "I suppose you're right, I just didn't think you would use the Sharingan on me."

"When backed into a corner I did what I had to. Besides, it wasn't like I used any of the psychological techniques, I only used it to knock you out."

Knowing he had a point, she changed topics. "You didn't have to stop stroking my hair." With a soft hum of acknowledgement, he resumed the movement of his hand as she turned onto her side, still using his legs as a pillow. Staring at his feet, she slowly relaxed, listening to the flipping of the pages of Kakashi's Icha Icha book.

He was reading _Icha Icha C_onfessions; did it bother him to look at drawings of her and Genma? She found she didn't mind him looking at them, in fact she kind of liked the idea that he was reading that particular book with her head pillowed on his legs. Granted the legendary pervert had given her a more voluptuous figure than reality had graced her with. Did Kakashi like the looking at those drawings? Did they arouse him? Had he ever wondered what she looked like naked? Naruto once told her men pictured every woman they had met naked. Then again, Naruto had trained with Jiraiya and she was pretty sure Jiraiya imagined all women naked, no matter how much clothing they actually wore. Kakashi was constantly reading Icha Icha so did he picture all women naked? And did he see her as anything but the 12 year old girl he'd first met?

And what was that she had felt when he smiled at Suki? Was she jealous? But they had only been dreams. How could she be jealous over strange dreams?

Overwhelmed by the questions running through her mind, she closed her eyes and let herself relax. She needed to wait for the boys to finish their sparing to heal their wounds and this was a nice comfy place to do it, her head pillowed in Kakashi's lap, provided she stopped thinking so much. She could smell him, and it was a pleasing and familiar scent she'd never consciously been aware of. Feeling safe and comfortable, she fell back into a dreamless sleep.

* * *

_Please review! I'm not exactly desperate or anything - I just enjoy knowing people read what I write and if it's good or if I need to change anything that is too OOC or anything that takes away from the story. Or inaccurate facts – most of what I know of these characters is what I've learned from reading other fanfics._


	5. Chapter 5

_Thank you for all the reviews! This chapter really starts speeding things up.

* * *

_

Sakura had finally finished the book the night before and the ending had been unexpected to say the least. It had also annoyed her. How dare that perverted old man write something like that for everyone to read! It was midmorning and she was still angry as she stormed down the hallway until she had reached the door of Jiraiya's room. Hesitating for a moment, she heard a familiar voice already coming from the room and all the anger left her when she realized it was Kakashi's.

Oh god, she wasn't ready to face him yet. She collapsed against the wall outside the room, forcing her chakra levels down to an unnoticeable level, hopefully hiding her presence from the two men in the room.

She definitely wasn't ready to face her old sensei yet. The things that book had her thinking about him had made it nearly impossible to fall asleep last night, leaving her tired and grumpy this morning. Her thoughts were all jumbled now, random memories, thoughts and images all spurred on by that book. Not to mention the confusing emotions it had stirred.

Reading last night while eating dinner, she'd almost choked on a dumpling as Kakashi made his first appearance in the book. With his incredible gift for originality, Jiraiya had used the name Takashi and the image was undoubtedly that of her former sensei. I mean, _really_, how many masked, one-eyed, silvery-grey haired ninjas could there be?

Takashi, after his one-on-one sparing practice with his former student Saruka, had taken her out for dinner where the conversation quickly turned to her relationship with Jemna. Takashi was certain that, while the other man was able to satisfy her immediate hunger, he could never satisfy her underlying need. At least, not like he could.

Then he'd surprised Saruka with a kiss; a very hot and passionate kiss. It only took a few touches with his hands to have her quivering in his arms and he asked to be given the chance to prove that he could give her what Jemna never could. Predictably, given the nature of the books, the pair had ended up in bed together. Jiraiya had then proceeded to describe the most intimately romantic and erotic sex scene Sakura had ever read, including Takashi's confession of love for his ex-student. Somewhat surprisingly, Takashi's feelings were reciprocated.

Later, when lying in her bed, Sakura read the last page and closed the book, setting it on her stomach. It had ended happily enough; Saruka and Takashi deciding to give a relationship a try. She had rather liked the ending; of course, she always had a soft spot for happy endings and it was quite obvious the characters were meant to be together. But was Jiraiya original enough to come up with such an ending if it wasn't true or was it just wishful thinking on her part?

She sighed. What did it mean? Could the book possibly have a grain of truth? There was little doubt in her mind that _her_ former teacher only saw her as the twelve year old girl he'd first met. This all had to be some strange idea Jiraiya had come up with – his first original thought in that entire book, excluding some of the sexual positions. Or maybe he got the idea from some other teacher-student relationship he'd heard about. Kakashi obviously knew she was a woman because he flirted lightly with her, something he didn't do with Naruto or Sasuke, but that's all it was, a soft flirting between friends. She had no doubt that he would never consider her as a potential lover.

_Alright, one doubt. He had called her beautiful._

He didn't mean it like that, he was just trying to cheer her up.

_And he'd stroked her cheek._

Surely it had only been a small reassuring gesture between friends.

_It had felt good._

That moment would remain in her mind, the way he made her feel with that simple touch. That one single stroke of his hand at the bar had left a tingling trail down her face; a single touch that reassured her that there could actually be someone out there for her. It gave her hope that she wasn't destined to be alone. It had felt good enough to make her think long and hard about their friendship. She had to admit she felt more for him than she would a casual friend. And it was different than anything she'd ever felt for Naruto or even Sasuke. One smile from him made her day better, be it a 'good move, Sakura' look or a 'thank you for your healing skills' look or a 'you've done or said something I find amusing' look.

Could this all just be respect for an authority figure?

She doubted it. Kakashi wasn't exactly an authority figure anymore, he may be team leader but he is also her friend. The one she ran to after she realized a relationship with Sasuke would never work. the one she turned to when she found she was a character in an _Icha Icha_ book. The friend she could talk to, one who didn't mind if she rambled on for long periods of time without later making her feel like she was an idiot.

All these thoughts running through her head confused her greatly.

In the years after Sasuke's defection and Naruto's subsequent long-term training with Jiraiya, Kakashi had been there for her. Those first few months she saw him quite often, at least until he had taken an eighteen month S class mission. When he and Naruto had come back, both around the same time, things were different. She knew she had changed, as had Naruto, but with Kakashi, everything started about where they'd left off, except they were no longer his students. He was now just their leader and friend, offering suggestions and encouragement. At the time, it hadn't stopped her and Naruto from calling him sensei, but that was more from habit. Recently, she'd found herself dropping that title.

Over the years, Kakashi really had become less like her teacher and more of an equal to her, a person who made mistakes and, although he didn't show them, she knew he had emotions. If you knew him well enough, you could even see them. He was human. A human man; nothing more, nothing less. Well, a very sexy and quite desirable human man.

She was the only one he would come to for healing, asking her to do everything she could to avoid going to the hospital. Over the years she had seen selected parts of him without clothes, all to heal his wounds of course, and now her mind was trying to combine all those memories into a nude figure to compare with Jiraiya's pictures. Certain parts were missing but if he even looked half as good as she imagined him to, well, her thoughts were making her drool.

What kind of lover would he be? Would it be hard and fast, rough and filled with an urgent need? Or would it be soft and sweet, slow to the point of torture? How would his hot mouth feel sliding unhurriedly across her skin, kissing and nipping at her bare flesh? His breathing erratic as he balanced himself over her, mismatched eyes burning through hers as he thrust himself powerfully into her body.

_Damn. Just thinking about it made her body ache._

She knew he wasn't as cold and remote as many people thought. But he kept most people an arms length away, including his first students now turned teammates. But she'd seen him smile – well, she'd seen the crease at the corner of his eye crinkle which was as close as anyone she knew ever got to see. He cared for his friends and teammates, he was just very cautious about letting them get too close.

There was gossip about him, how his father had killed himself for a failed mission when Kakashi was just a child and how Kakashi was a child-prodigy and had become a jounin at age seven. Yet no one spoke of how he gained his Sharingan and she had never asked. It was probably in his medical file, something she had access to as a medic-nin and the only one who really had the rights to read it seeing as she was the only one he'd turn to when injured, but she'd felt it was inappropriate to find out that way. She knew it wasn't his real eye and the medical implications of that was all she truly needed to know to treat him. She always hoped that one day he would trust her enough to tell her himself. Just like one day, she hoped he would trust her enough to let her see his face.

Pulling herself from her daydream-like thoughts, she left her bed and pulled open her underwear drawer, withdrawing the book she'd hidden there, she retuned to sit on the edge of her bed and looked at it. Finally realizing why she bought it, she stared at the cover image of a man that vaguely resembled Kakashi. Takashi. Great, just great. She was well into her twenties and she had a crush on her teacher.

"_Former _teacher_,"_ the voice inside her head prodded.

Ah, it didn't matter. There was nothing she could do about it. There was no way he could ever see her as a potential lover, she was just too young and immature. Not to mention he had his choice of any number of women. Pretty women like Suki. Leaning back she opened the book and started to read about some of Takashi's exploits, eventually falling asleep reading, her dreams filled with erotic images of her former teacher.

And now she was standing outside Jiraiya's door, hiding from Kakashi and listening to their conversation.

* * *

"Jiraiya." 

The head of the man in the bed popped up. He paled considerably and glanced nervously at the man standing in the doorway. The figure moved closer until he was able to completely see Jiraiya lying in his bed, propped up against the headboard.

"Kakashi! Good to see you!" the man said with forced cheerfulness. "I guess you've heard about the events leading to my current circumstances."

"Yes, and I see you found someone willing to heal you, at least partially."

The man in the bed laughed ruefully. "I was able to bribe one of the male medic-nins to help. He at least healed some of my worst injuries, but not enough to get me out of the hospital for another week or two."

"Well, I doubt Tsunade, Shizune or Sakura were willing to help, were they?"

"I didn't even bother to ask. I was afraid I would receive further injuries by just speaking with any of them."

"You brought this on yourself. You should have known better than to use Tsunade-sama's student in one of your books. Or Tsunade-sama herself."

"After recent events I've reached the same conclusion, but at the time I thought you might enjoy it."

"So you wrote the book to please me?" Kakashi asked incredulously.

"Not exactly, but you gave me the idea."

"I finished reading it yesterday." Kakashi said, no emotions apparent in manner or in voice.

"So did you like the ending?"

"Hmmmm. I'm not sure it's a matter of what I like; it's what Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura will like. They're very close, even now, and while she really doesn't need their protection, at times those two still feel the need to save her. Especially when it comes to relationships. I know they're not going to like it, and I'm not going to protect you from them." Kakashi turned his stare to Jiraiya's unbroken right arm before looking up at the man's face. "In fact, I'm more than tempted to injure you myself."

"But I thought you would enjoy that ending!" Jiraiya exclaimed before continuing in a begging tone. "Not the right arm, I won't be able to write or draw for months!"

There was silence in the room.

Besides," the old man prodded. "Its true, isn't it? You do love her."

* * *

Outside the door Sakura's breath caught in her throat, waiting with an ache in her chest for his answer. Her eyes closed and she bit her lip, hoping against all rational thought he would say what she wanted to hear… she wanted to hear it was true. She wanted to hear that someone such as him could care for her. That he was the man meant to love her. She strained to hear his next words.

* * *

"It's the truth, isn't it?" Jiraiya prodded. 

"How did you…?" Kakashi started before giving a defeated sigh. "I don't know. It's confusing."

"Why? You care for her right?" Kakashi eventually nodded and Jiraiya continued. "And it's in a different way than for your other teammates, right? And anyone else you can think of, isn't it?"

Kakashi nodded again, wondering where the older man was going with this. He cared for all his students in different ways, what made Jiraiya think he could love Sakura?

"You want to protect her, and be with her and you can't imagine your life without her. You enjoy spending time with her and you're comfortable around her."

He nodded again. "But it's the same around Naruto and Sasuke."

"But not in the same way. You like watching her, the way she smiles, the way she moves. Every little thing she does turns you on, doesn't it?"

"That just proves I'm a dirty old man."

"No, it proves you're not immune to her and part of you has realized she's a full-grown woman. What about these – she's all you can think of anymore, isn't she? You'd do anything you could to make her happy, whatever she asks of you. That's more than what you'd do for the boys. Those are some pretty deep emotions - all of them indicative of love. So… do you love her?"

* * *

There was silence in the room and Sakura found herself holding her breath waiting for his response.

* * *

"I suppose I do," he sighed in defeat. He'd been fighting it, but Jiraiya had a point.

* * *

Kakashi's voice was so quiet she strained her ears to hear the softly spoken words but when she heard them, she released the breath she'd been unconsciously holding. Had he just admitted he loved her?

* * *

"Now you just need to find a way to tell her." 

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because she doesn't feel the same way."

"You can't be sure of that unless you talk with her about it."

"You should know by now, Jiraiya, that there are some things that are just not within our grasp. I can never hope for the return of my feelings from her, and knowing that, anything I feel for her needs to stay hidden. If she even suspects… I could lose her friendship. If she finds out I care for her, think of the way I do; that I've fallen asleep thinking of her lips and her hands on my body… I'll lose any respect she might have had for me when she finds out I'm just a creepy old man lusting after his former student."

"Give the girl some credit, she's more adult than some people twice her age and she could just harbor some romantic feelings for the man she's looked up to for years, the man who taught her the basic skills of a ninja." Jiraiya raised an eyebrow and winked. "Bedsides, I can see why you like her; she's quite a cute little thing with _really_ nice-"

"Watch it, old man." Kakashi growled, his voice expressing the scowl that was barely visible through the mask.

"Ah, overprotectiveness! Yet another sign!" Jiraiya exclaimed joyfully, wishing the cast on his arm was gone so he could rub his hands together.

"Why did you decide to write this book about her – about us? How did you know?" Kakashi sat in the chair by the bed, resting an elbow on his knee and his head in his hand.

"Kakashi, anyone with half a brain could come to the same conclusion if they saw the way you look at her when you think no one is watching you. That desperate look of need, of wanting something you're denying yourself. The few times I've seen it, you were practically drooling. I just decided to give you a helping hand to get what you want."

"By letting everyone who reads your books know I'm a pervert!"

"Everyone who sees you reading my books already _knows_ you're a pervert."

"I'm reconsidering not breaking your arm earlier."

"Listen, Kakashi, I have reason to suspect she wouldn't be indifferent to any advances."

Kakashi gave a soft snort. "Tsunade must have hit you harder than I thought. Any advances Sakura doesn't want would be sent, along with the rest of my body, through the nearest brick wall."

"Now you're just exaggerating."

"You had no idea who you pissed off, do you?" Kakashi asked, surprised by Jiraiya's ignorance. "As her apprentice, the Hokage taught her a great deal of her chakra-enhanced strength. And she only has a slightly better handle on her temper than the Hokage. You got off very easy. Don't you remember what she did at the jounin exam?" he shivered slightly when remembering the day.

Jiraiya's face paled. "She was the one who almost completely demolished the arena a few years back, isn't she?"

"Yep."

"Hmmm, I seemed to forget that. I guess I did have a brush with death, didn't I?" the older man mused, his uninjured hand rubbing his chin. "You still need to tell her; I'm certain her reaction won't be as bad as you believe it will."

"You're not the one that would be sent through a brick wall. No, things don't work that way; I just know she'll never speak to me again."

"When it comes to the female mind, it can be difficult for a man to anticipate their reactions."

Kakashi just sighed again. "Not this time, Jiraiya. I know Sakura and I know exactly what she'll say."

* * *

Sakura stood thinking outside the room for a minute, thoughts racing through her mind so fast she could barely process them. If he did care for her, well… this would change everything. Realizing the men's conversation was ending, she quickly raced off down the hall before she was caught eavesdropping.

* * *

_The lemon's still a go but I may need to rewrite this and some of the earlier chapters – I'll let you know when I do that._

_Please leave a review and tell me how you think I'm doing._


	6. Chapter 6

_A/N: Thank you so much for the nice reviews! It's been a really tough week that was made so much better by the reviews._

_Okay, everyone. I've decided, I am writing a lemon and you can't talk me out of it – I already started writing it so there's no stopping me. Honestly, I don't know what I was thinking; I believed I could write a story with an Icha Icha book as a major part of the plot without smut. I also believed I could actually write a chapter fic without smut. But please don't get mad or flame me or stop reading cause of this. _

_Chapter seven has their 'confessions' and chapter eight will have the lemon, ergo, if you don't like lemons don't read chapter 8, although chapter 7 will have to have some more, detailed romance to build up to the lemon – I don't want a lemon just coming out of nowhere. There's going to be some kissing and a bit of touching (no nudity, just thru the clothes) while they talk and work things out building up to chapter 8. _

_Now, in all honesty, I believe a tasteful and well written lemon can never hurt a story as long as it is caring and worked in well enough. To me, there are two parts to writing lemons, the technicalities (the physical action) and the emotions involved and you have to have emotions, feelings and sensations or it loses something important. This is why I need to write at least a chapter for any lemon. I'd like to think I can write them well and write them tasteful, so once I'm done, feel free to let me know if you think I've failed or succeeded._

_I know the last chapter was kinda sudden, hearing Kakashi's emotions that seemed to come from nowhere. Hopefully this chapter will give some more insight into both their emotions. It's also on the long side, but I really didn't want to split it up.

* * *

_

After overhearing Kakashi's conversation with Jiraiya, Sakura had slipped away before she could be found, her mind still reeling. She was having trouble thinking; it was as if her brain had completely stopped functioning. She closed herself up in an empty patient room to give herself some time to process everything she'd overheard. Back resting against the wall, she sat on the floor with her legs pulled up to her chest and let her mind consider what she'd heard.

Yes, she had feelings for Kakashi, but she was still unsure of them. It sounded like he was rather unsure of his emotions regarding her as well. She did know her feelings for him definitely weren't that of a student to her teacher, unless every student spent her time thinking about squeezing her teacher's ass. She groaned and rested her head on her bent knees.

It's all that stupid orange book's fault. No, strike that, it was all Jiraiya's fault. If she had thought she needed revenge for just appearing in his book, he would really get it for pulling this crap.

How many times in the last week had she found herself thinking about Kakashi even before he made an appearance in the book? And how many of them were at completely inappropriate times with some very dirty thoughts? Especially when she should be focusing on a patient instead.

He really did have a great body, fit and limber without an inch of fat on him. And she had wondered for years what that mask was hiding. Sasuke and Naruto had been convinced he was hiding some sort of disfigurement but she thought otherwise. Even if he did, it wouldn't matter. Physical appearance wasn't the real reason she liked him; it was just an added bonus. She liked his cynical outlook and the quick subtle jokes he would make around her. He was the one who would wait with her for Naruto and Sasuke to finish beating the crap out of each other, sitting back to back or shoulder to shoulder with her, neither saying anything. Neither feeling the need to say anything.

But it wasn't just her thoughts during the past week. When she realized she and Sasuke had no romantic future, she had found herself turning to Kakashi for reassurance. He was the one who'd been there for her when Sasuke had left and when the only thing Naruto could think about was finding his best friend to drag him back to Konoha. In the past few years, when her skills as a ninja had suffered because of her intense focus on her medic skills, he was the one she trained with regularly, almost religiously to improve them.

What she felt for him was different from her feelings about Naruto and Sasuke. He'd been her teacher and he'd become her friend, and… now she wanted more. She'd seen his lean body while healing him from his numerous injuries, his dislike of hospitals forcing her to treat him in his home, giving her a good chance to admire the rest of his body, all of it perfectly toned under those too numerous scars.

She can't just walk up to him and tell him she has a crush on him, nor could she just accidentally let it slip out in the middle of sparring. Maybe she could just back him into a corner, rip his clothes off and screw him senseless. Mmmmm… she rapidly shook her head. No, no, no, as appealing as that last one sounded, (and it sounded really, really, _really_ good) she didn't think it would work.

Wait, could this all just be because she's horny? That itch she needed scratching, was that all the only reason she was thinking of Kakashi? Could she merely be imagining those feelings, could she just be so desperate to find someone who cared for her that she would accept anyone who gave her a hit of emotions? Was this just another crush on a man who couldn't (or wouldn't) love her back.

She really needed to talk to him to figure this out. She needed to know where he stood. She would find a place she could talk to him easily, somewhere private, somewhere familiar. His apartment would work fairly well, after all, he needed to sleep sometime. She would wait for him there and talk to him when he returned.

* * *

She'd spent the entire night in his small apartment, waiting for him to come home. After a while, she had started to snoop around a little. Not a lot; it wasn't like she went through his drawers or anything, but she had taken a good look at the things lying out. He had a picture of the old team 7, probably taken right around the time of their first real mission. There was a similar picture sitting in a frame next to it. A man she recognized as the Yondaime stood with his own team of genins standing in front of him. A young Kakashi was easily identified by the mask and the spiky silver hair although she could see both eyes and they were black. 

How odd. She knew that unlike Sasuke's Sharingan, Kakashi's eye was always working, meaning it was always red with the black tomoe. For a person born with the blood limit, like Sasuke and his now deceased brother Itachi, the eyes would remain completely black until activated. Of course, she knew Kakashi's was a transplant but this picture told her it was something that happened after he'd joined his first team.

The girl and boy in the picture looked nice. Whatever happened to them? They must have died or become missing-nins. He never talked about them, but then again, he never talked about his parents or other friends either.

She stared at the pictures for a good long time, her eyes always returning to her own team. What did he really think of her? Could what she had overheard be true or was she imagining it? She may be 22 years old but she was quite a bit younger than him, 14 years to be exact, would he really want a woman so much younger? She had been his student, could he ever care for her as a woman or would he constantly see only the things in her that needed improvement? What if she was purely imagining this, clutching at a bad idea conjured by one of Jiraiya's silly orange books.

It couldn't be that. No, please don't let it be that.

Why did she think that? It had hurt. It hurt to think she could be imagining all this, that he might not care for her, that he might not love her. She felt like she had lost a part of herself. It felt… lonely.

She reached out to pick up the old team 7 picture. Ignoring her younger self, Sasuke and Naruto, she studied the silver haired man. It had been almost ten years yet he looked the same. Her finger traced along his familiar features and she couldn't help but smile. Unlike the picture of his child self, he was smiling. Did she really love him or was it that she just admired a man who'd been in her life since she was twelve? A man she'd looked up to for all those years.

It sure felt like it was more than just admiration. Eventually she would figure it out, but she needed to know how he really felt about her, because if she was mistaken or had merely overheard a joking conversation and if he only thought of her as his student, it would all be pointless. And that thought hurt. If he wasn't willing to give her a chance, then… none of her thoughts mattered.

So it all rested on him and his opinion of her, what he wanted of her. Then together they could figure out what they really felt. Later she could learn if she really did love him or if it was pure idolization.

* * *

She awoke the next morning curled up on his bed, hugging his pillow and covered with his blanket. The bedding smelled like him and was a pleasant scent to wake up to. Slowly realizing where she was, that it was morning and she was alone, she jumped up and searched the apartment but found nothing out of place. There was no sign whatsoever that he had been home while she was there. Could he have come home, found her asleep on his bed and left before she woke up? 

Wait! Perhaps he was away on a mission! He hadn't mentioned it, but that wouldn't be anything new and it could have been a last minute mission. Someone at jounin headquarters would know if he was out of the village. Carefully locking the door behind her, she raced over to headquarters and dashed into the common room to find Genma was the only person in the room.

"Genma, have you seen Kakashi?" She hurried past the silent man filling out paperwork at a nearby table and headed right for the scheduling board. Scanning the names and finding Kakashi's, she ran her finger across to the date to see he wasn't scheduled for any missions until tonight.

Genma was silent until she came to stand in front of him, slapping a hand down to cover his paperwork and get his attention. "Genma, have you seen Kakashi recently?"

With a quick look at her, he glanced around the empty room, as if checking for someone else. "No. And it's safer if I don't talk to you for awhile."

"What do you mean? I'm just looking for him."

"I'm staying away from you and Kakashi for a while, at least until you two get sorted out."

"You lost me again. Just tell me where Kakashi is." The strength behind her voice convinced him to continue speaking.

"Probably returning from my escort mission."

"If it's your mission, why are you sitting here?"

He raised an arm and gestured to the bandage still wrapping it. "Walking wounded, remember?" she had a slightly confused look on her face until she recalled seeing him a couple days before in the hospital. The events of the past twenty-four hours had pushed all thoughts of Genma out of her mind.

"That's right! I thought you would have been better by now. Are you not healing well?"

"Well enough to take Kakashi's mission tonight."

"Oh, so you swapped! That's why it's not corrected on the board. It was good of him to switch with you."

Genma snorted impolitely. "It was _so_ nice of him to do that, wasn't it?" the sarcasm practically dripped off his words. "Damn straight it was good of him to take it seeing as he's the reason I was injured in the first place," he grumbled. "And the second place."

"What?"

"Kakashi's the one who beat the crap out of me! Like you didn't know…"

"I thought you said it was a jealous boyfriend?"

"It was. Why were you going to have a drink with me if you're dating him? And why the hell did you kiss me? I never thought you would stoop to using me to make him jealous."

He stopped when he saw the surprised look on her face. "You aren't dating are you? Oh, crap." He was silent for a moment as her confusion seemed to grow. "And he hasn't even talked to you about it, has he? Oh, shit. He's really going to kill me now," Genma sighed.

She sat down, her hand still resting on the table and covering his paperwork. "Start from the beginning."

"Right after I asked you out for a drink, Kakashi pulled me aside. I made a… um, gesture…" he mimicked squeezing two invisible round items in front of him with his hands that earned a scornful look from Sakura. "Which apparently pissed him off."

"Serves you right, you pervert."

"I'm not the one who reads all those dirty books. I only read the one's Jemna is in. Guess I should have been smarter, considering the ending of this last one. And I didn't make that gesture within your sight, just around him. He went crazy; dragged me out of here and beat the crap out of me. That's the reason I missed our date." The senbon bounced on his lip as he spoke.

"He didn't say anything?"

"Just that he didn't want to catch me doing that again." Genma rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

"There's something you're still not telling me." She said with a glare.

"Calm down," he said still sucking on his senbon. "I just haven't gotten that far. The next morning when I saw you in the hospital and we kissed, I noticed he was coming up behind you. That's when I took off, but he caught me and warned me again to stay away from you. He then re-applied some of my injuries. I just assumed he finally talked to you about this after I saw him."

"No. no, he didn't." She said softly as she stood and left the room in a bit of a daze.

Leaning back in his chair, he called back to her retreating form, "Well, could you at least put in a good word for me with Hatake? I've got a date with this cute little piece from the café and I'd kinda like to survive the week!"

* * *

Sakura left jounin headquarters in a fog. This pretty much cinched it for her. Or did it? She knew Genma must have made such gestures in Kakashi's presence before and Kakashi had never injured him for it so what set him off now? Was it really Icha Icha Confessions that spurred this? Would he be willing to admit he had feelings for her that weren't exactly those of a teacher to his student? He had pretty much admitted as much to Jiraiya, would he actually be willing to give her a chance?

* * *

Kakashi took his time returning to Konoha to give himself the opportunity to think. Actually, this being a routine escort mission, he'd had almost the entire mission to think, he just hadn't come to a decision yet. 

He knew Sakura was reading _Icha Icha Confessions_ so it wouldn't be long before she approached him with questions. Questions he still didn't know the answers to. How long had he… loved her? It was probably time he could at least admit to himself he loved her, but how long had it been?

He'd found her attractive since… well, he'd really noticed her transformation into a woman after she'd passed the jounin exams. For a while before that, he'd been busy on a number of high ranked missions, making it back to Konoha just in time to see the exams. He hadn't even known she would be participating but was quite impressed with her performance. It would have been hard not to be after seeing what she did to that arena. Yamato had to spend a good deal of time reconstructing what had taken only seconds for her to she destroy. Not even Naruto had done that much damage during his exam. Yet again in his absence she had improved immeasurably and if one was to believe Jiraiya's word, she had become a med-nin to rival the Hokage herself and had created several new justsus for the medical field. She'd grown up. And grown up into quite a beautiful kunoichi as well.

But he was pretty sure it hadn't been that early. At least not the love part of it. At that time, he'd only noticed that she'd grown and she was pretty, but it was hard not to notice that. She had always been on the tall side, the top of her head now coming up to his nose and she'd let her hair grow long again, usually pulling it back into a messy bun held in place with a handful of senbon. Her figure had filled out slightly, still on the slim side but with noticeable curves in the right places. The swells of her breasts were what drew his eye most often – he always had been a breast man.

Sometimes during a sparring match, wisps of pale pink hair would fall and become stuck to her sweaty skin. Since she'd started wearing her hair up, Naruto had made a game out of stealing her senbons one by one until her hair fell. Whenever she caught him, she'd have her revenge, but he'd gotten much better over the years. It had become Kakashi's goal, when sparring, to get her to the point she would need to use those senbon and let her hair fall freely across her back. She knew of it and the little battle for the senbon had become something of a game for them. She was never angry with him like she was with Naruto, but then again Naruto never treated it like the game they did, he only stole the senbon to tease her.

But when had he actually fallen for her? Perhaps it was last year when she'd managed to save all three of her teammates with her medic skills. Their team had been sent to retrieve a stolen scroll but it had been a setup, with a particularly tough and bloody fight. Even as exhausted as she was from fighting, she healed them all enough to survive, almost completely draining herself of all her chakra in the process. The only reason she lived was the extra chakra the Kyuubi let Naruto transfer into her before he went for reinforcements. She'd cared for the lives of her teammates more than her own, but she'd always been like that.

That was probably when he first realized how much they all meant to her. When he'd awoken in the hospital, she was by his bed, scolding him for using his Mangekyo Sharingan and fussing over his comfort at the same time. She was still sporting a few bandages herself, not yet being completely healed. Sasuke had yet to awake and Naruto, who, after Kyuubi had restored him to perfect health, had been sent home because he was driving her crazy with his ceaseless and inane chatter. When Sasuke awoke she'd fussed over him as well, but it was then that Kakashi realized how much she cared for all of them.

She was the first thing he saw when he woke up in that hospital and it had made him smile. Somehow, she had even managed to keep him there for 2 days until he was well enough to escape but it had been rather nice to have someone care for him, worry about his well-being. He'd had people, mostly women, claim to care about him or even to love him, but he knew none of them really had. How could they when they never knew who he really was? He'd never been willing to let them get close enough to know him.

But Sakura… she may not love him, but she cared. And before he even knew it, he had let her slip behind his protective shell, that shell he created so many years ago that kept anyone from getting too close to him. The shell that kept anyone from hurting him. He had always been so careful recalling the pain that came from letting others get close, but she had snuck behind it, showing affection for him and asking for nothing but his friendship.

He hadn't even realized Jiraiya's latest book was about Sakura and Genma until she had come to him for help finding an image of the Hokage in an _Icha Icha_ book. And even then, he found it amusing; confident that her appearance in the book wouldn't bother him.

But it did. He continued to read it only he imagined himself in Genma's place. It was him fucking her against the wall, in a lake, on the balcony of her apartment and in the stairwell of the hospital. It was him she was touching and stroking and kissing. In his head, it was so real he could feel those touches, those kisses. He'd fall asleep thinking of these fantasies. But, he reminded himself, fantasies are different from reality and as long as he could keep his mind firmly in fantasy, he would be fine.

At least that's what he thought.

It had really bothered him when she agreed to a date with Genma and then the man had the gall to make some lewd gestures in Kakashi's presence and he had finally snapped. He knew he'd injured Genma, nothing life threatening, but surely enough to deter him. Much to his annoyance, it hadn't. When he found Genma kissing Sakura in hospital, he felt the need to repeat the lesson. And he had.

It was jealousy, he needed to accept that fact and stop it. After their talk in the bar, he understood that Sakura just wanted to use Genma for sex, but it still hurt that he could never have a chance with her. If she really only wanted sex, couldn't she have come to him?

It was a stupid thought and rationally, he knew it, but in his heart it still hurt. Except they had a good friendship, they knew and understood each other and fought well together; something he didn't want to ruin. There were several missions just the two of them completed, assigned because they worked so well together. He didn't want to lose that rapport or her friendship just because he had a silly crush on her or because he was jealous of Genma for asking her out when he couldn't. Well, he could have asked her out, but she probably wouldn't take him seriously or, worse yet, would have called him a disgusting old man.

And that's what he was, wasn't he? He was 14 years older than she was and had been her teacher! He'd first met her when she was 12! He felt completely disgusted with himself when he had stroked her cheek in the bar and she had called him sensei. That one word had brought reality back to him and had luckily stopped him from displaying any more emotions for her. How could he even think that she could ever consider him for her lover? This girl was beautiful and smart and strong and the student of the Godaime. He had no business hitting on this child. He had no business considering how her lips would feel on his. He had no business imagining how beautiful she would look naked and spread across his bed, beckoning to him with a single finger, no matter how pleasing the image was. No matter how much he wanted her.

He also couldn't go around beating up the men who asked her out. She was strong and could choose a man for herself. It was no business of his unless the guy hurt her or it affected her work. If he said nothing, they could continue to be friends and teammates.

And he wouldn't lose her.

The afternoon he had to use his Sharingan to win their sparring match, he had been so distracted by _Icha Icha Confessions_ and his thoughts of her that she actually managed to pin him against the tree. And while he hated to use it, his Sharingan was the only way out. Once used, he caught her as she fell and brought her over to the tree the team usually met at. Laying her down with her head on his lap and her hair streaming over his legs, he hadn't even realized he had been stroking those pink strands until she awoke. He quickly stopped, but she said she liked it, so he allowed himself to continue running his fingers through it. It was a calm and relaxing moment he'd wished would never end.

It wasn't until he got home that he read the ending of _Icha Icha Confessions_. While annoyed with Jiraiya, he figured it could wait until the next day before talking with him and maybe he would no longer feel like killing him. That evening, he told himself he didn't love her and by writing such a lie, Jiraiya had cast suspicion about their relationship. Now, as he ran through the trees, he wondered how Jiraiya had really been able to recognize his feelings when he himself hadn't even been sure of them until the day before. Did he really look at Sakura with that much longing in his expression? And could he prevent himself from doing it now that he realized he loved her?

How was he going to hide this from her? The more he thought about it, the more he realized they could never have the relationship he wanted, even if she was willing to take a chance with him. He'd spent the last 25 years of his life pushing people away, an automatic behavior that couldn't be turned off like a switch. He may trust her with his life but could he trust her with his heart? In all honesty, it was a rather delicate thing never given to anyone before and he was afraid rejection would crush it. Unlike Genma, the idea of being cheated upon or refused would send him back into his shell permanently.

It would be best if he loved her from afar, he could allow himself a fantasy world where he could be with her. That was all. That way, he could have things however he wanted them. When she came with questions, he would tell her she was being ridiculous and then he'd push her away. It was the safest this way and the best for both of them.

The rest of the way home he allowed his mind to wander, imagining what it would be like to come home from a mission to find her waiting for him in his apartment. Her desire for him barely allowing time to shut the door before she was in his arms, her face showing her pleasure at seeing him home safely. Holding him tightly as she struggled with his clothes. She'd rip down his mask and kiss him hard as she pulled him into the living room. Everything was dropped or pushed aside; his equipment, their clothing and his need for a shower all disappearing as his need for her took control. They wouldn't even make it out of the room before they were both naked and lying on the floor, her hands automatically searching his body and healing any recent wounds with the slightest touch, her body wet and willing, just waiting for him to fill her up. And when he looked into her eyes, he would see her love for him shining there.

Sigh. This was going to be harder than he thought.

* * *

_A/N #2: Okay, I did a basic edit of the first 5 chapters and was really appalled at how many mistakes there were. Enough to make me ashamed of my writing - and it was basic stuff, too. I did add a few things as well, so I don't know if anyone wants to reread it or anything, but I wrote earler that I'd let people know if I changed things. Only one of my stories has been beta'd (a FMA fic) and I think I could really use one for my Naruto fics. I don't suppose there is anyone out there who would be willing to help me? _

Thanks for reading everyone! Please remember to review! 


	7. Chapter 7

_I was kidnapped by smut bunnies. They held me at knifepoint until I rewrote the ending. It was supposed to be nice and sweet and fluffy followed by a nice vanilla type of lemon. But NOOOO! The smut bunnies made me write this. I'm sorry, really sorry. I thought I could separate the lemon more from the rest of the fic, but to build up to it, parts of it just got a little dirtier than I'd originally intended. And don't think bad of Sakura because of her next move, we already know he loves her and she's just trying to get that annoyingly stubborn man to realize it._

_And thank you all so much for the reviews! I'm thrilled so many people have taken the time to let me know they like it! And I did post that kinky lemon on adultfanfiction(dot)net if anyone wants to read it…_

_Thank you so much ShipperTrish for being my beta for this chapter!

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_

Sakura spent the rest of the morning and part of the afternoon waiting for Kakashi at the shrine. Perched comfortably in a tree, hidden by the leaves, she watched the dark grey clouds move across the sky. It looked like it would rain, but hadn't started yet. Hopefully it would hold off until Kakashi came back. From years of routine, she knew that after reporting in at jounin headquarters, he would come directly to the shrine even before going home. She wanted to see him as soon as he was back in town, but there was no set time for Kakashi to be due back, as if he would make it to an appointed time anyway. She contented herself with waiting for him and watching the dark clouds.

It was no wonder Shikamaru liked watching them. In the stormy sky, some moved faster than others. The lower clouds raced across the sky while the higher ones hung there with no particular rush to be anywhere. Some clouds looked like harmless marshmallow fluff and others looked downright menacing. Once or twice she even saw lightning flash off in the distance and heard a very faint rumble of thunder. The storm, when it came, was certain to send down torrential rain. She was starting to get impatient, annoyed at the thought of getting wet. It wasn't like she wasn't used to working and training in the rain. She just didn't want to be in a rain shower if she could at all avoid it.

What would his reaction be? Would he be happy she loved him or would he deny everything he'd said to Jiraiya? Had she really heard right? Could he love her as a woman and think of her as something other than just a friend and former student? Sure, she had heard him say he cared for her, but could she get him to overcome his reservations about having a relationship with her? Just thinking these thoughts made her nervous. When she was younger, everyone she met knew she was in love with Sasuke or at least she had thought she was in love with him. It had really turned out to be an obsession with the reclusive boy. A love for a person she had created in her mind and not for the boy who really existed.

This felt different. She knew Kakashi. She knew and accepted his faults. There was just something about being around him that she enjoyed. The man could drive her crazy one minute and have her giggling the next. And when he looked at her, really looked at her with that single dark eye, she could feel her heart move. Not to mention he had the nicest body she had ever seen – well, okay, the nicest body she had imagined. She'd never actually seen his entire body naked, or for that matter, any large portions of his body naked, but if her imagination was anywhere near reality, she couldn't wait to rub her hands all over him, explore his body with her fingers and her mouth. And imagine his hands on her.

With a small shake of her head, she pulled herself from her fantasy, thanking god she hadn't let it get too far. They had never even kissed, but somehow she was fairly sure she loved him. Could he possibly love her?

She took another look at the shrine and suddenly he was there, laying a gloved hand on the cool smooth surface of the name-carved stone face. Sakura was careful to keep her charka levels low so he couldn't feel her until she wanted him to. She just watched him, his fingers outlining the names of all the people he'd known and lost. She watched him, studying his familiar figure. His unruly silver hair, held in place with the hitai-ate used to hide his eye with the Sharingan. The cloth mask that covered his nose and mouth, leaving only a small section for his left eye to be seen. When they'd first met, she thought he was so engrossed in his books that she thought he didn't even have emotions. Now that she knew him, his droopy eye could express more emotions than most people even knew existed and she was one of the few that knew him well enough to read many of them.

His shoulders were slumped and his head bowed, giving an air of carelessness that she knew belied his true awareness of everything around him, except hopefully herself. She was pleased to see no rents or spots of blood on his clothing. He always scared her when he refused to go to the hospital for treatment, no matter how severe. At least he would come to her now. And if she was going to make her move, it was now or never.

When he finally raised his head, she stood behind him, slowly allowing him to feel her charka before she spoke.

"I finished the book."

"Oh?" He paused, still not turning to look at her. "Jiraiya can spin quite a story, can't he?"

"Not really." She replied frankly. "Saruka? Jemna? _Takashi_?"

"Ah." So she really had read the entire book. He sighed softly, now unwilling to turn and face her.

"So is it true?"

"Sakura," his voice held a warning tone as he turned and stepped around her, completely avoiding looking into her eyes. Seeing her question in those bright green depths would make him crumble. "It's only a book."

"Tell me, is it true? Is that what you want?" She spun to watch his retreating form. He barely hesitated as he continued on his path home, not responding to her question.

"Kakashi, get back here and answer my question!" She cried, losing control of her temper and seconds away from crying. She needed to know. She had to have an answer. This was what she had waited all night for. "Answer me, you coward!" In the blink of an eye, he had returned and was standing inches in front of her.

"I don't want to talk about this, Sakura." he said, his eye focused on something over her head, avoiding eye contact with her.

_"But I do_. I need to know. Is that how you think of me? Do you…do you care for me like that?" her words were soft but held an inner strength that told him she could not be put off.

She reached up for his mask, only to have her wrist stopped and held in his hand. "Please, tell me Kakashi. Do you… Could you ever…?" Her voice was now a harsh whisper and she found herself unable to complete her question. Her voice wavered too much and her strength was suddenly gone. Her eyes searched the small portion of his face that she could see for emotions.

With a soft sigh, he released her arm and allowed her to reach up and remove his hitai-ate, his scarred eye remaining closed. Her other hand moved to slowly pull down his mask and trace the complete length of his scar with her thumb, her fingers brushing against his cheek, leaving a burning path where she touched him. His other eye closed from the sweet feeling of her hand against his bare face. With both eyes now tightly closed, he had a slightly pained expression on his face. His breath hitched and caught in his chest.

He was gorgeous. Other than the scar, his features were flawless and the scar had its own beauty, making him who he was - Kakashi. The Kakashi who'd been her teacher, then her friend and now… just a man. A man standing before the woman who loved him.

They stood in silence for a few moments, motionless, with her lower lip caught between her teeth. She waited. She slowly felt her heart sink and recognized the burn from the tears starting to well in her eyes. She had been wrong. She had heard wrong. She had been so sure he felt something for her, that he might just love her, that he might just have feelings that matched her own. Feelings strong enough to make him overcome all those barriers between them, but she had been so very wrong. It wasn't enough. Once again she'd chosen a man who didn't love her back.

She bowed her head and slowly pulled her hand away, but he reached up and caught it with his own. Holding it ever so gently, he drew it down to his lips and kissed her open palm tenderly. His silver head nodded ever so slightly. "Yes." he breathed softly into her hand.

The burning of the tears in her eyes faded as she looked up at him, her heart racing and a smile spreading across her face. "Good," she whispered softly, pleased when his head jerked up, both eyes opening wide in surprise. "Then you won't mind if I do this." She said softly as her other hand came up to grip the back of his head and pull him down to meet her lips.

It was a soft, tender, and chaste kiss. His mouth was unresponsive to hers, unmoving and refusing to open for her tongue as it ran over his tender lips.

He broke away only to find her pulling him down again for another kiss. "A real one this time." she whispered softly, her breath hot against his cheek. "No holding back. Please." she begged. This wasn't the way it was supposed to happen. She had wanted to blow him away with their first kiss, to show him she wanted to be with him, to make him lose complete control and give her a sign he could think of her as something other than his 12 year old student. And this time she was determined to get it.

Pulling her closer, he finally relaxed, understanding she wanted this, too. He allowed their lips to barely touch, ever so softly brushing his against hers and letting their breath mingle. With a little more effort, he pressed their lips together and opened his mouth just the slightest, allowing his tongue to glide over her lips, enjoying the sweet taste of her lip-gloss. She tasted like strawberries. He didn't know what he expected her to taste like, but apparently, it hadn't been strawberries, but he found he rather enjoyed it.

This kiss was different, very different from their first. It burned with a heat he thought would burn them both. Their bodies no longer had any space between them, only their clothing separated them. He could feel her soft breasts pressed against his chest, his flack jacket having been unzipped and pushed aside. Her nipples were hard points he could easily feel when her body moved against his.

And he felt _right_. Finally, she felt good, felt this is where she belonged and who she belonged with. Pressed up against this man, her body molded so closely to his, the pounding of his heart easily felt by her hand resting along the side of his neck. She felt comfortable, and safe, and unbelievably turned on.

He pulled away and she looked up at him. "Wow." she said softly, just staring at his face. She'd memorized it quickly, trying to figure out the undecipherable look on his face. Whatever it meant, whatever he wanted, she at least wanted to remember the way his entire face looked. If he wouldn't give them a chance, this might be the last time she saw his bare face for a while.

"Sakura…why?"

"Because I love you, too."

"You can't. It's not right. I shouldn't... Sakura." he absolutely loved the way her name felt on his tongue. And how her mouth had felt against his. But it was wrong. So very, very wrong. No matter what, he just couldn't forget that fact. She had been placed in his care and he had been trusted to protect her from all danger. Trusted not to take advantage of her, but here they were, holding each other like this. She was just so young and innocent. "Doesn't it bother you that I'm so much older? That I was your teacher? That I'm a dirty old man who reads porn and lusts after his student."

"_Former_ student. We've been teammates and friends 4 times as long as I was ever your student. And if you don't think of it in that way, then I'm nothing but a student with a crush on her teacher, but I know it's more than that." With a flash of lightning and a crack of thunder, the rain started to fall in cold and hard drops that stung when they hit bare skin. "Could we go somewhere and talk? Please?" she asked, looking up at him with pleading eyes.

"I'm sorry, Sakura, but no. You can't change my mind about this. It's wrong and we're never going to speak of it again." In a second, he had pushed her away and had disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"Why?" She cried out to the empty hilltop. "Damn him!" Sakura growled when she realized he had really left the shrine. Standing in the cold, hard rain, she stared out over Konoha, the lights from the village glimmering in the darkness. The rain was mixing with her tears, the water streaming down her face. If he was determined to do this the hard way, well then, she'd have to do it the hard way. She wiped the liquid from her face. The gleam that appeared in her eyes and bitter smile that spread across her face were eerily similar to the one she wore when first visiting Kakashi less than a week before. He'd admitted he cared for her now. There was no way she was going to give up without a fight.

* * *

She knew where to find him, other than the shrine. It wasn't as if there would be a lot of places he could go when faced with something so troublesome. After a few preparations were completed, she walked into the Corner Bar and sat on the stool next to Kakashi. Signaling for a drink, she turned to look at the masked man. 

"Running away, hmmm? Not very mature." She sipped delicately from her sake cup. "And definitely not the way to deal with a woman. Especially me."

"Sakura, we are not going to talk about it. Ever. Not if we want to continue working together." He downed his glass without even looking at her.

"You're willing to give up a chance at happiness because it _might_ effect the way we work together? Granted Tsunade-shishou isn't fond of teammates having relationships, but it's not unheard of. She merely watches them a bit more carefully and evaluates their teamwork when working together."

"And if it doesn't work? What then? Team seven is finished. Things will be awkward and anything that disrupts our teamwork could put all our lives in danger."

"But it won't. We've worked together for 10 years. We know more about each other's quirks and habits than couples married for 25 years! I know you! I love you!" The tears were starting to well in her eyes again. _Crap, why wouldn't he listen?_ She bowed her head and took deep breaths, trying to calm herself down for what was coming next.

"It would never work, Sakura. I don't want you to get hurt."

After another deep breath, she looked back over at him, a regretful look in her eyes. "You really are determined to do this the hard way, aren't you? You know, we could have just done all this at the memorial, but you insisted. Don't say I didn't warn you."

"Warn me about—" before he realized what she was doing, she subtly flashed a dozen hands signals and he slumped forward over the bar before he could finish his sentence. Laying a few bills on the bar, she wrapped her arms around him, performed a few more hand signals, and then they both disappeared in a swirl of flower petals.

* * *

Once everything was arranged according to her plan, Sakura sat in an armchair in his apartment watching the rope tied silver-haired shinobi lying on the couch, waiting for the telltale signs he was awake. Okay, she was willing to admit that kidnapping him had been a little extreme, especially something so underhanded as using a medical jutsu to knock him out to do so, but she felt it was called for. And he remained tied up because, if free, he was going to run away from her again. She knew him well and there was no doubt in her mind about that. 

He had admitted he loved her. He even said it to her face, but when she told him she loved him, too, he ran from her and the emotions she confessed. She was willing to bet he had never been in love before, at least not like this. He was a man whose only weakness was his _Icha Icha_ books and when faced with the possibility of being with her, experiencing love, and allowing himself to become close to her, he ran. He still believed that loving someone was more dangerous than it was worth.

The more she thought about it, the more she realized she had never seen Kakashi with a girlfriend. Sure, every blue moon he would leave the bar with a woman, but she would never see him with her again. He was consistently alone, a life he must have chosen for himself because, honestly, if he ever went out in public without his mask, he'd be fighting the women off. It must have been his choice because, even with the mask, women were always flirting with him and he almost always ignored them.

Which was what he'd wanted to do to her, ignore her and her feelings. But she wasn't going to let him. She would do whatever it took to get him to talk to her, even if it involved tying him up after knocking him out with a specialized jutsu. But it was okay, wasn't it? The kidnapping part? He couldn't seriously have believed that he could tell her he loved her, tell her he wanted her, give her a kiss like that, and expect them to go their separate ways never to speak of any of it ever again. She finally found a man who loved her. She wasn't going to let him get away without a fight.

It wasn't like she was going to rape him or anything, although she couldn't deny it was an appealing idea. It wasn't like he was exactly unwilling. She just needed a way to keep him still while she convinced him how stupid he was being. Although having him tied up brought up some interesting ideas. There had been one scene from the book that involved a tied up Jemna, but Kakashi would be much, much better. Just picturing the man currently lying on the couch, naked and tied up in bed, had her body reacting just imagining it. Maybe she shouldn't have bothered with this whole talking first thing. She could have just taken him directly to bed and let him wake up during sex.

She sighed and tried to wipe the image from her mind. No, that would have been an abuse of trust.

_As if knocking him out and tying him up wasn't underhanded._

Oh, shut up. She felt guilty enough already, but it was the only thing she could think of.

_If you just had patience, I'm sure he would have worn down over time._

But I can't wait! I don't want to wait! That was the whole reason she had considered a date with Genma. Her feelings, and emotions, and needs were getting too much for her to take. She just wanted to be with someone, preferably the man she loved. No, she sighed and rested her head in her hands, it could only be the man she loved. All the thoughts that she had previously had about Genma were still in her head, but they now only involved Kakashi.

Curled up in the chair, she wrapped her arms around herself and watched him sleep. He would be waking up anytime now. The jutsu was designed for a patient to lose complete consciousness for approximately two hours and it had been almost that long. Anytime now. She couldn't take her eyes off him. She had pulled his mask down around his neck, but she wasn't dumb enough to remove the hitai-ate and reveal his Sharingan. She had no doubt that he would use it in this sort of situation. She would never get tired of looking at him without his mask. He was just so perfect lying there. She had turned on a dim light in the corner, just enough to see part of the room in the fading daylight, just enough to see him.

What if he wouldn't break? Could he continue to refuse her? Could she stand to live without him? She sighed again. She hadn't let herself consider that once he'd left the shrine. Her heart ached just thinking about it.

No. She wouldn't allow him to refuse. She was just as stubborn as he and there was no way she was going to lose this time. There was no way she was going to lose him.

In an unsuccessful attempt to make time pass more quickly, she started pacing.

TBC

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_I'm going to end it here for now. This and the next chapter were originally meant to be one chapter, but when it got up over ten pages (and still growing) I decided to split it. I could have split it right after she knocked him out but I decided that would be too mean. I hope to have the next chapter up in the next couple days – I'm holding off on it until I have the lemon a bit closer to done. That means the lemon is NOT in the next chapter, it will be in chapter #9._

_Again thank you all for the reveiws, please keep them coming!_


	8. Chapter 8

Here's the next chapter as promised. It took a little longer than I'd planned thanks to my family's Halloween celebration. (we tend to take Halloween rather seriously – see my deviant art acct. for some pics of our pumpkin carvings, I'll get this year's up in the next day or two)

Thanks to ShipperTrish for the beta!

* * *

Kakashi awoke slowly, trying to figure out his surroundings. It wasn't the usual way he woke up. It was slower. It was… different. It was from a forced sleep. That little… She knocked him out with a jutsu! He never thought she would do such a thing, so he hadn't been ready for it. He had thought he could trust her.

"I know you're awake." Sakura's voice spoke softly. Eyes still closed, he could hear her pacing back and forth somewhere in front of him, feel the air move, smell her faint scent. He flexed his muscles, ensuring everything was still in working order and that he could feel his entire body. It was at this point that he realized he was bound hand and foot, struggling momentarily with the ropes. He finally opened his eye to watch the pink-haired woman who'd captured him. They were in his apartment and he was on his couch, stuck lying on his side. He couldn't help but stare at the long beautiful legs that carried her back and forth across his floor, her hips swaying gently and the fabric of her skirt lifting slightly with each step, giving him flashes of her well formed rear in those extremely tight black shorts.

"Don't bother struggling, I used chakra reinforced rope. Got some from Ibiki. I had to tell him some lie about wanting it for revenge on Naruto, because, after all, if I told him I wanted to tie up my former teacher so I can talk him into screwing me, I would have gotten some very strange looks, and I really don't want to deal with that kind of rumor right now. Do you?" She bent over in front of him so she was even with his face and could look him in the eye. She also gave him a nice flash of her cleavage in the process, more visible because the zipper on her shirt was lower than he ever remembered seeing it.

"Untie me, Sakura." His voice was strong, but it didn't have the commanding tone it should have held, although it was strong for a man who had just woken from a jutsu enforced sleep. Damn, she really did have some impressive medical skills.

"No. If I do, you'll disappear on me again." She smiled sweetly, lowering herself onto her knees. "And I want you here while we talk. Now, did you mean what you said? Do you love me?"

"At least sit me up. My arms are falling asleep."

"Fine, but answer my question." She lowered his feet down to the floor and tipped his torso up until he was sitting on the couch. She then crawled up on the cushion next to him and turned his face to look at her. "Well, do you love me?"

"Yes, but… we can't." Why did she have to lean against him like that? She was practically in his lap and her whole body was just so soft and warm. Why couldn't she just let this go?

"Why not? I love you and you love me." She said as if it was the simplest thing in the world.

"Don't say that." His voice was soft but she could hear the pain in his voice. "You can't love me. Don't ask that of me."

"Kakashi, I'm 22 years old for god's sake! It isn't like I'm too young or impressionable to know what I want. I want you. I love you."

"Don't say that! It isn't just the age difference that makes it wrong. Can't you understand that it just won't work?!" He sighed and tried to pull away from her but she wouldn't let him. "I was never going to say anything to you about this. You were never supposed to find out. It's just… Why would you want an old man like me, Sakura? I'm damaged, I'm scarred, I'm old, I…"

"You're none of those things…Well, ok, maybe you have a few scars." She conceded, her hand reaching up to touch his scarred face. He couldn't help the sigh that escaped his lips and it took all his willpower not to give into her caress.

She stared at his face, really liking the way he looked without his mask. Sure, the skin where the cloth usually covered it was paler than the rest of his face, but he was still quite handsome and she really liked the emotions he showed unintentionally with his mouth. Maybe that was why he wore the mask in the first place.

"I know about all about scars." She continued. "Every ninja has been injured in one way or another, physically or mentally. It's just part of the job." Stretching up, she placed a kiss on his jaw line, her tongue darting out to lap gently at his skin. His eye closed and a shuddering sigh escaped his lips. Oh god, her mouth on his skin felt so much better than he ever thought it would. He should be struggling to escape those ropes, but she had bound his hands tight enough he couldn't make any signs.

"…and age isn't important." She continued between the loving brushes of her lips on his neck. "If you're lucky enough to love someone and they love you, too, you have to go for it. A shinobi's life is too short to worry about such inconsequential things as the number of years the individual's lived." Stretching further, she placed another kiss under his ear this time. "I do love you. I want to be with you. Just give us a try. Please." She begged, her breath hot in his ear.

"How can you be so sure?" His voice was soft.

"I'm not… completely. But I want a chance to find out."

"Why me?" Kakashi asked, still a little surprised by her words. He looked down at the pink-haired woman with the smile on her face, her emerald green eyes filled with an expression that took his breath away.

"You've been with me through so much. You helped me, taught me, supported me, saved me so many times. We work well together and I like being with you. Every time I am, you make me feel better and when you're not, I miss you."

"That's what friends are for, Sakura. They support each other. They care about each other."

"No, you mean more to me than just a friend does. When you look at me, like you're looking at me now, you make me feel… special. Like I'm important to you. Like I'm the only thing on your mind right now. And I can't tell you how much I enjoy that feeling."

She hesitated before continuing, her head lowered and her face turned away from him, but curling closer to him. "The afternoon when you stopped by the hospital, you kind of flirted with Suki and I… I was jealous." She said softly, still embarrassed at her reaction to a simple goodbye. It hadn't even been blatant flirting, just a few words exchanged, yet she had still been jealous. Her cheeks flushed lightly, giving her a charming look that Kakashi rather liked. He also liked hearing he wasn't the only one that had overreacted when faced with a potential rival.

"I wanted it to be me you gave your attention to. I wanted to be the one you flirted with. The thought of you with another woman bothered me a lot more than it should if we are only friends. And I can't do that. Please don't make me watch while you flirt with another woman." The pain on her face and in her eyes hurt him. "I don't want to know you are going to be with a woman other than me."

She looked so miserable and ashamed of herself. Things he never wanted her to feel because of him. At this moment, he wanted nothing other than to wrap her tightly in his arms and tell her she was the only one he wanted, he would ever want, and that he would do whatever she wanted to make her happy. But there was the little problem of the ropes. And the bigger problem of how wrong it was. It was wrong, wasn't it? Why was it wrong again?

"And, after I talked to Genma, I think you feel the same way about me." She said softly. "Do you really want to see me with another man? If you won't be with me, you can't keep hurting anyone I decide to date."

He turned away, shamefaced and unable to look her in the eye. "I didn't intend to injure him, but I didn't want him to treat you badly. He just couldn't take a hint and refused to stay away. He doesn't deserve you. You spend one night together, he'll put another notch in his headboard and he'll cast you aside. You deserve so much more than that."

"You mean someone who loves me… like you do?" She looked up at him with such hope, it tore at his heart.

He was silent for a few moments before speaking. "You deserve more than Genma can give you."

"You're right. I deserve more. I deserve _you _. I _want_ you." She ran the flat of her hand down his chest, stopping at his waist and enjoying how she could feel his muscles tense with her movement, enjoying his soft groan when her hand stopped. "I need you. Don't tell me this doesn't feel good, that you don't like how this feels." She gave a tug at the waistband of his pants.

"You should have someone your own age-" He protested feebly, ignoring the stirring in his groin. He looked down at the bright green eyes staring up at him, unknowingly allowing a tender look to show on his maskless face.

"We've been through that. I want you." She moved her head so her mouth could press gentle kisses against his neck, tasting the light sweat from his skin and running her tongue along his pulse point. She had the fabric of his mask pulled aside to give her better access to his bare skin. The scent of him was intoxicating, a wonderful blend of pine and his own light sweat. "When I kissed Genma, and it was _me_ who initiated it, there was something that just didn't feel right. It was good, but not like this." She raised her mouth to his and kissed him again. He gave no resistance and this time his tongue was the aggressor, pushing between her lips and diving deep into her mouth, tangling and swirling around with hers. Her sweet taste was overpowering and the movements of her tongue brought him closer and closer to losing what little control he had left. He pulled back with a moan and took deep breaths, gasping, trying to restrain himself from taking her suddenly and completely right there on the couch. Of course, this would have been made somewhat difficult by the ropes binding his hands and feet, but at this moment he felt like he could break through them even if they were chakra reinforced.

He thought he had control. He had spent the last 35 years learning to control his emotions, repressing them, keeping himself an arms-length away from everyone and now this girl, this woman, this wonderful woman had managed to slip closer to him than anyone else ever had. And he had let it happen. He had been so sure he could repress these feelings, certain that he could deny all emotions he had for her, until she had curled up against his chest, warm and soft and real. Thirty-five years down the drain. When faced with this opportunity, with her begging to be given a chance with him, to make whatever they felt real, the chance to change all those lonely moments into time spent with the woman he'd been dreaming of… Could he possibly have found someone he could trust? Could she actually love him as he did her?

He would never know unless he took a chance with the woman leaning against him. It was a big chance and there was an even bigger chance for failure. Would everything he felt make her worth it? There was no going back, even now. Even if she were to untie him, things between them had changed. There were emotions that they had both acknowledged and now things could never go back to the way they'd been. Being just teammates would no longer be an option. Especially when he was having so much trouble controlling his body and mind when around her.

Noticing his reaction, she stayed silently curled up against his chest, allowing him time to regain control. "I don't suppose you could untie me yet?"

"Promise you won't run?"

He hesitated before replying. "Promise."

Pulling a kunai from her pouch, she worked the ends of the rope free. After all, she didn't want to waste the rope, it could come in handy later.

"I don't really know if I can love another person, Sakura." He moved his arms around, flexing them to regain the circulation. Assured he hadn't lost any mobility, he wrapped his arms around her and he looked down at the pink-haired woman who could stir his emotions more than anyone he could ever remember. "I don't want you to get hurt and I'm afraid that's all I could ever do to you. Everyone I've ever loved has been taken from me. I don't want that to happen to you. I'd never forgive myself if you got hurt because of me." But he kept his arm wrapped around her, his other hand reaching for her waist, not wanting her to leave the circle of his arms. She felt so good, the warmth of her body so close, her heated breaths heavy on his chest. This is where he dreamed of being so often the past few days, his arms holding her close with her whispering that she really wanted to be with him. His rational mind knew how unlikely any relationship they had would work, but it was hard to convince his heart otherwise.

"I'm not going anywhere and you'll hurt me more if you won't even try. I'm a jounin and I can protect myself." She said softly.

"People will talk, not everyone will be accepting of… us." Yet another fear of his. Being in a relationship with him could ruin her reputation, turn her from being a respected kunoichi into a woman scorned by all of her peers, a woman seen as a seductress or a slut, a girl who may have slept with her teacher, for years even. And what would Tsunade-hime really think of this – of them? If she disliked the idea, would she go so far as to refuse to continue instructing Sakura? No longer allow her to be a medic-nin? Would the shinobi of Konoha be understanding of their relationship?

"Fuck 'em." She said simply, turning her face to nuzzle at his neck. She wriggled against his body until she was sitting on his lap, straddling his legs and rubbing the length of her body against him.

He gave a soft snort as his hands wrapped comfortably around her waist. "And where did you learn that language, little girl?"

"Sasuke and Naruto. They're such bad influences on me." Lifting his shirt, she ran her hand up under it, stroking his bare chest, pleased at the tensing of his muscles at her touch. "And pulling another page from their book, I am willing to fight until I wear you down."

"I'm not going to win, am I?"

"You never even had a chance." She smiled sweetly.

"And what happens when Sasuke and Naruto find out?" His thumbs at her waist idly circled the bare skin between her shirt and skirt. He hadn't even considered what their teammates would think, but it probably wouldn't be good, at least at first.

"We'll each take one of them and _beat_ them into submission." She leaned over and rubbed her cheek against his, her words warm in his ear and the day's light growth of stubble scratching her skin.

"Hm, sounds like fun."

"I thought so. I beat Sasuke yesterday for talking about sex during the sparring match. Finding out about _our_ sex life will probably take him down without me having to lay a finger on him."

_"Our_ sex life?"

"Mmmm-hmmm…" S he purred in his ear, her lips parting to suck on his earlobe and her tongue playing gently over the delicate skin. Her hand moved lower, stroking him firmly through his pants. His eyes closed with a helpless groan. "Yours and mine… ours."

"I don't want this to be a one-time thing." He said, once he could finally speak again.

"Good. Me neither."

"And Genma?"

"Who?" She asked. "My memory seems a little fuzzy about him. Tall guy? Brown hair? Always got something in his mouth? You're much better suited for the position I had in mind for him. He only filled a few requirements while _you_ have them all."

"And what would those requirements be?"

"Let's see… you're male, and… not married, and… handsome, and, um… have silver hair, and… you're _definitely_ well endowed." Once again, her hand closed over the growing bulge in his pants, drawing a sharp breath from him.

"Ah… that's quite a list." His hands slid up under her skirt to caress her bottom, immediately realizing she wore nothing under those tight shorts.

"There's one more, maybe the most important: you love me. I'm sure there's a few more, but those are the main ones. I'll let you know when I think of others." She smiled up at him, loving the feeling of his hands on her body.

He opened his mouth to reply but she stopped him by placing a finger against his lips, shaking her head back and forth. "No, no, no. I think we've talked enough. Now it's time to stop thinking and just start feeling." His eyes locked with hers and he opened his mouth to draw in her finger, sucking softly on the digit before releasing it with a soft pop, her soft mew of delight making him smile.

"Good idea. Enough talking. Let's take this to the bedroom." He batted at her hands that were tugging at the waist of his shirt, ignoring her complaining whimper. With his hands on her bottom, he held her body close to his as he stood up and walked to the bedroom, her legs automatically wrapping around his waist and lips again pressing at his neck.

Kakashi couldn't help but wonder how this had all happened so quickly. A week ago, if asked, he would have denied any romantic feelings at all for the woman in his arms, and she probably would have said the same about him. One week ago, the latest _Icha Icha_ book was released, the catalyst that made this an absolutely insane week for them both. A week that forced them to acknowledge emotions neither thought they could even feel. A week that brought them together, right here and now in his apartment. And hopefully, this week was just the beginning.

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While this is not the end, if you don't like lemons, skip the next chapter. There may be an epilogue but I'm not positive so check back in a week or two. And it might be a little bit until the lemon's posted but reviews would help (hint hint)… 


	9. Chapter 9

_Warning: This chapter contains a **Lemon**. Skip this chapter if you are underage or dislike Lemons._

_A/N: Please excuse the following rant and it's length, the author suffers from indecisiveness, guilt, low self esteem and an inability to know when to shut up:_

_I know, I know, this chapter took forever, but just so you know, it also took forever to write to my satisfaction and I'm still not completely happy but I'm going to go nuts if I work on it any longer so consider it done for now. I'll probably do some editing in a few months once I've had some distance from this whole story. And I know it's graphic and really long but most of my sex scenes seem to be like this anymore - once again, I tried to write something good and quick but every time I re-read it, I kept adding more and more details until it ended up like this. So welcome to the longest chapter. I couldn't find a place to satisfactorily add a chapter break so it's just a really long chapter._

_I also know this site has people posting lemons all the time but I think this one is a little more graphic than most others. I ask one thing of you. If you really have a problem with what I've posted being too much, please PM or email me instead of just putting it in a review or notifying fanfiction directly of this violation. I'll honestly try to take all constructive comments into consideration and change things that bother people too much. _

_I am faced with the option to post this elsewhere and edit this down to something more acceptable, but I honestly don't want to spend the time editing it; I really do think all the changes I've made best express what I see in my head and I'd rather not change that image too much. Yes there is the option of sending you all to another site, but I don't want to do it this time. Seeing as this is the second story I've written that has gotten out of hand lemon-wise, anything I write from now on will consider the ideas of either sending people to another site or writing less explicit stuff. Or I could just stop posting things here in the first place and I wouldn't have to worry about this crap. _

_Sorry, long week,- well, actually its been a long two weeks. But I want to thank everyone so much for the reviews, I really enjoy reading them and knowing people like what I'm writing. And a big thanks to ShipperTrish for the beta!_

_**Enjoy the lemon!

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**_

Releasing his grasp on her bottom, Kakashi forced the legs Sakura had tightly wrapped around his waist to release their hold, leaving her supported only by the hands she had laced around the back of his neck. Slowly relaxing her grip, she allowed her body to slide down his, rubbing along the front of his body, wishing there wasn't so much inconvenient clothing between them. His groan and his slight trembling told her how hard it was for him to restrain himself, settling for merely running his hands up her sides, stopping momentarily at her breasts to caress the softly rounded flesh before continuing up to remove the senbons from her hair one by one, throwing them into the wall behind him. He smiled as he watched her pink hair fall down her back.

"Your landlord isn't going to like the damage to that wall." She said with a smile.

"Don't care. I'm sure he'll agree you look better with your hair down." He ran his fingers through the long pink strands, enjoying the silky feel as he guided her head back toward his so their lips could meet in another hungry kiss. He couldn't get enough of her mouth. She was so sweet as she gently sucked on his tongue.

Feet now planted firmly on the floor, her hands slid down his back until she reached his ass, squeezing the well formed muscles in her palm and enjoying his surprised reaction. His body pressed harder against her and his tongue thrusted deeper into her mouth. His body was all muscle. Hard, well used muscles. She absolutely loved the feeling of pulling him closer so she could feel his growing erection press into her lower stomach.

"You have no idea how long I've wanted to do that." She whispered against his neck, the heat from her breath sending a shiver down his back. So she really had been thinking about him, wanting to touch him and feel him. It still seemed incredible that she could want him like this. It was something he had only wished for deep in his heart. Something only for dreams and fantasies. For so long he had denied that such a desire even existed until recently. But she was here with him, touching him, holding him, kissing his bare neck and moving her lips toward his jawline, sucking on the soft skin. It didn't matter if she left marks on his face and neck, his mask would hide them the next day, but she wouldn't fare as well, and in all honesty, he liked knowing he had put them there.

"When's the next time you have to work at the hospital?" He asked softly. Turning his face, he sought her lips again, kissing her gently, trying to remain in control as he waited for an answer.

"Not until tomorrow evening." She whispered into his mouth.

"Good, 'cause this might take until then." He stroked the skin at her waist, rubbing little circles over her soft flesh with his thumbs.

"Hmmm… I like the sound of that." She said, breaking away from his kiss. Pulling back, she studied his face, her eyes drinking in the sight of his lower face. Her hand reached up to remove his hitai-ate, leaving his entire face bare. His hair, freed from its restraint, flopped down over his real eye, shading it slightly but not obscuring it from her view. He was beautiful. No wonder he kept his face hidden. It could be used as a weapon itself.

Everything suited him. His fine features looked good on his face, giving him a younger appearance than his years. The only possible flaws were his scar and his mismatched eyes and even those just added to his individuality. There were other shinobi who bore much deeper marks, injuries from lost battles or scars from torture. The more she stared at him, the more she liked it. Without the mask, he was no longer her (former) teacher and team leader. He was just a regular man. He was Kakashi, the man she loved and the man who loved her back.

"You don't have to look at it," he said, puzzling her for a moment by turning his head away so she couldn't see the usually hidden side of his face. "It's not exactly a pretty thing to see." The sadness visible in the single eye she could still see annoyed and confused her. Did he really think she was so shallow she didn't like the look of his face because of a scar? That such a small thing would bother her?

She turned his face back towards her, caressing his skin, grazing the scar with her fingertips. His eyes were averted, looking down at the floor and avoiding her gaze. "Do you really think I could care about something as silly as that? A scar? It's part of you, something you never let other people see, but you showed me. You let me see it. You haven't told me how you got it – yet – but I'd like to believe you will trust me with it when you're ready. I actually kinda like it." She gave him a hesitant smile. His eyes squeezed close and his hand covered hers, keeping her palm pressed against his face.

"It doesn't bother you?" He asked, still worried she still might turn him away, that he just wasn't good enough for her. Afraid this was all just a dream. Afraid she wouldn't like who he was behind that mask. Although he hadn't meant to do so or even realized it until now, he'd given her his heart and he couldn't suppress the fear that she would push him away. She may not intend to do it, but he was afraid she would hurt him beyond what he could endure. That she would reject him or they'd wake up tomorrow and she'd realize this had all been one big mistake. He had wagered more than he could stand to lose.

"Kakashi, you have to believe me. I love you and nothing can change that. Nothing. Not appearance, not age, not even the stubborn man I love who keeps trying to push me away. Now, how about you finally do what I ask and quit overanalyzing this and start acting on your emotions, on how this feels?" She stretched up to place open-mouthed kisses along his scar, licking it ever so slightly as her lips followed along the injured skin. "Let me know how you feel here." She said as she laid the palm of her hand on his chest.

He shivered slightly under her kisses. She felt incredibly good, her lips on his face, her breath on his skin, the warmth of her body pressing into his. Even if she did regret it in the morning, he could at least enjoy being with her now and showing her what she'd miss if she left. If she did stay, he'd be the happiest man on earth, but either way he wanted this night to be one they would never forget.

"I don't ever want this to end." He whispered in her ear, the words barely audible.

"Like you said, we have all night and all day tomorrow. And I could always call and tell Tsunade-shishou I'm just too exhausted to come to work. Actually, I think I might just feel a cold coming on and I should just stay in bed until I feel better." She gave a soft and unconvincing cough. "You know, someplace where you can take care of me."

The smile that appeared on his face almost blinded her. In the next second, the smile changed slightly and the gleam in his eyes made her stomach flip. It was a delightfully hungry look and she knew exactly what was going to happen next, something she'd been trying to convince him of doing all evening and was determined to get in the end.

Turning his head, he captured her lips in an excruciatingly slow kiss, one filled with a yearning so great she got weak in the knees, leaving her clinging to him for support. His tongue swept through her mouth, skimming over every tooth, caressing the inside of her cheeks and the roof of her mouth, tangling with her tongue and memorizing every part of her. His mouth was so sweet, tasting of tea and sake and something she could only identify as him. Eventually, he pulled away to run a trail of wet kisses down her neck, stopping momentarily to suck gently on her collarbone, sucking hard enough to leave more red marks she would have to remove with her healing chakra.

Releasing his tight grip on her, his hands slid up her body again, his fingers going directly to the zipper of her shirt and tugging it down gently, his head bowing further to kiss the newly bared skin of her chest. She tasted wonderful, her light sweat giving her a slightly salty taste. He stopped at her breast bindings and before she even knew what he was doing, he whipped out a kunai and sliced through the bandages, letting the strips of cloth fall loosely to the floor.

"Hey, I need those!" She protested.

"Right now you don't. I'll get you some new ones later." His mouth returned to her neck, biting her softly before his tongue bathed the now reddened skin, her body trembling in anticipation. At his touch, all her protests disappeared. She agreed that she could easily get new strips of cloth. At this very moment, she would happily allow him to rip her remaining clothing to shreds as well. Whenever she got around to leaving his apartment, she could always borrow something of his, although if it smelled like him the odds of him ever getting it back would be very slim.

Turning slightly, he sat down on the bed as he pushed the unzipped shirt from her shoulders, letting it fall to the floor. She shivered slightly and her nipples stiffened, forming tight peaks. She felt herself grow the slightest bit nervous. She wasn't the most well endowed woman, Tsunade-shishou took that honor, but she wasn't completely flat either. Was she enough for him? Was she too flat? Too small? She knew she must be fairly attractive, if she could tell anything by his hardening cock pressed against her lower stomach. But he'd been with any number of women and certainly some had been more gifted in the breast area.

Her entire body was mostly muscle from her years as a kunoichi. All her muscle formed from use and not just for appearance. Many of the fleshy curves a normal woman would have had never fully developed on her frame. Her body was merely another weapon, and for the first time in a long time, she was nervous about what a man would think of her figure. His approval meant a lot to her. She wanted to please him with her body, but would she be enough for him? Could she satisfy him?

"So beautiful." He breathed softly as his hands at her waist pulled her closer to him before sliding up to brush the undersides of her breasts. "I'm not going to get you any more bandages if you're going to keep covering up with them. They certainly aren't very flattering. I never imagined how lovely you are without them."

"Bindings are necessary and you know that." She smiled, relieved at his praise. He lowered his head to softly kiss one of her breasts, planting small kisses randomly over the surface of her chest, carefully avoiding the darker skin of her areola.

Pulling back so he could keep his eyes locked on hers, he lowered his open mouth over a hardened peak, ever so close to touching but not quite, stirring a feeling of need in her as his hot breath washed over the sensitive skin. With a whimper, her hands came up to cradle his head, trying to force his mouth down onto her skin, but he refused, holding strong against her hands, keeping his mouth so close she whimpered with his every breath. The cool air sucked past her nipple as he inhaled, followed by the heated breath from his exhale washing over the sensitive skin and sending a slight shiver up her back.

"Kakashi…" she whispered, imploring him to stop teasing her.

"I don't think I'm ready to stop quite yet, Sakura. I'm enjoying this too much to stop." He pulled away, but she arched her back, trying to force her body to his parted lips.

"Kakashi, I've waited long enough…" She moaned at a particularly heated breath blown against her skin. "Kakashi!"

"What do you say?" His voice was sexy and low. Just hearing him made her even wetter.

"Please! Please!" She was seconds away from using her chakra enhanced strength to force him to lie back onto the bed where he could no longer inch backwards to escape her.

Relenting, and quite pleased at her surrender, he lowered his mouth to her breast, his tongue playing over the sensitive skin, sucking lightly to pull her into his mouth. Her groan of pleasure and the soothing feeling of her running her hands through his hair sent a jolt right down to his groin, his cock twitching and already hard from the way she had rubbed against him earlier on the couch. He rolled her nipple between his teeth, enjoying the sound of her whimper, something he had never heard from her before, but something he definitely enjoyed and wanted to hear again.

Her eyes closed as her head tipped back. Oh god, she had never felt this good before. He was practically worshiping her with his mouth, intentionally taking his time to explore her and tease her with his tongue. She should have expected that. Teasing her was one of his favorite activities outside the bedroom. What made her think things would change once they were beyond that doorway?

His hands slipped down her back when his mouth moved to attend to her other breast, his fingers sliding along the waist of her skirt to push it down over her hips, letting the fabric fall around her ankles. His hands returned to the fabric of her shorts, feeling her lack of panties under the tight fabric. Releasing her breast with a soft pop, he looked up at the woman standing before him.

"What a bad girl, not wearing any panties…" He scolded, the smirk on his lips giving away his pleasure at finding her secret, his fingers tracing over her shorts where the edges of her panties should have been.

"If I wore panties, I'd end up with panty lines and that would distract me when I'm fighting." She tried to defend herself, but her face flushed unintentionally.

"Are you really that vain?" He teased, his hand dipping down between her legs.

"It's not a matter of vanity – not exactly." She couldn't help but moan softly as his hands cupped her sex through the fabric. "It-it's just something that I might think of during a fight that might distract me." She ground herself into his hand, her mind having trouble thinking while he stroked her through the cloth. "Besides, the shorts are lined." She finished lamely.

"Apparently not quite thickly enough. You feel a little damp here, Sakura, is there something you'd like to tell me?" The infuriating smirk was still plastered firmly on his mouth, making the pink-haired woman want to do something, anything to change that expression. Maybe just kiss it off his lips. Or suck it off.

Again, he squeezed her gently and she couldn't help but sigh and grip his shoulders tightly to keep her balance as a wave of pleasure washed through her body. God, how could he make her feel like this? Just the gleam in his eyes or the slightest smile on his bare lips left her body aching for him. And when he actually touched her it was as if her brain stopped working, her mind thinking only of the sensations he aroused. She had never had a man make her feel this way and not even in her dreams had she ever thought someone could do this to her, much less her former teacher, Kakashi. But here they were together and his every move, every touch of his hand, made her feel like she would melt.

She lowered her head to whisper in his ear, "You're too good at this. I'm wet just thinking about you. …" Her hot breath sent a shiver down his spine, the raw emotion in her voice surprised him. "I suppose I could also say it's because I love you too much." She pulled back to see the smile on his face. "And now, would you stop teasing me and just take my shorts off?"

"Yes ma'am." He replied happily. His hands slid along the waistband of her shorts, pulling them down past her knees and letting them fall to the ground with her skirt. "Nice, very nice." He said softly, drinking in the sight of the naked girl in front of him. Still sitting on the bed, he had a perfect view of the short pink curls, his hands automatically reaching behind her to squeeze her bare ass and drawing her closer.

"Kakashi!" she scolded and tried to push his head away, worried about how close his face was to those curls. But he was stronger and more determined, starting higher to relax her tensed body. His lips landed just above her belly button, planting a kiss on the sensitive skin there. With a quick movement, he stuck his tongue into the small divot before pulling back and playfully tracing a small wet circle around it with the hard tip of his tongue. Her soft moan and the way she immediately stopped struggling told him she would allow him to do whatever he wanted with her as long as he continued to make her feel so good.

He glanced up at her, past the pale skin of her breasts and the skin reddened by his mouth, up to her closed eyes and the teeth biting her lower lip. She swayed slightly, his actions and what she was feeling were making it difficult for her to keep her balance. Her hands were now on his shoulders, gripping the cloth of his jounin shirt, trying to remain standing.

"Don't keep it in, Sakura. I want to hear every sweet sound you make." He whispered into her skin. She nodded her head and released her bottom lip from her teeth, letting out a soft moan as one of his hands caressed her backside.

His other hand moved down smoothly through the curls. At first, his fingers only lightly brushed her skin, drawing a helpless groan from her lips. It fascinated him. She was shaking ever so slightly and holding him tightly by his shoulders. This woman who was so strong everyday, the one who held their team together and brought them back after everyone had gone their separate ways. The woman who could punch her way through a brick wall without a second thought was here, naked, whimpering and trembling at his touch.

He stroked her a little harder, slipping his fingers into the warm, damp folds between her legs, his own breathing becoming a little strained at the silky wet feeling of her body. A fingertip just barely brushed her clit making her back immediately arch and a soft cry force from her mouth. The hands still holding his shoulders clenched his shirt even tighter to steady herself and she gasped softly. "Please Kakashi, I want to feel you in me!" Her hips were rocking back and forth, trying to force his fingers to touch the small bundle of nerves again. "Please…"

Obliging with her request, his fingers slid easily through her slick folds, a single finger dipped into her, her muscles automatically clenching tightly around him. God, she was so tight and hot and wet! He completely withdrew his finger, holding it up and staring at how her slick juice covered the digit, glistening slightly in the soft light from the bedside table. Her eyes focused on his as he pulled his finger into his mouth, licking her juice from his hand, his tongue visible to her through his open lips and a smile growing on hers.

How could he look so sexy there, still fully clothed and sucking on the finger he just had inside of her? Somehow he was able to appear like a little boy sucking on a Popsicle at the same time.

He was watching her as well, but he only studied her for a moment before gripping her tightly around the waist and swinging her around to toss her on his bed. Shrieking in surprise, she bounced slightly on the soft surface and tried to sit back up, scolding him the whole time.

"Kakashi! What do you think you're do…ing?" The anger and annoyance drained from her voice when he turned to look at her, the raw desire and hunger visible on his face making her words catch in her throat from his intensity. He looked practically feral, staring at her like she was a piece of meat and he was a man who hadn't eaten in weeks. Biting her lip to keep from groaning, she found she had absolutely no objections to being eaten right now.

In a second he was over her, forcing her back against the bed with his weight, the texture of his clothing scratching her bare skin as he worked his way down her body, every single breath tickling the fine hair on her flesh, kissing her neck and chest, down the valley between her breasts, over her stomach and through the pale pink curls, leaving a wet trail down her body. He inhaled her sweet musk, the scent of her flooding his senses. She even smelled amazing. Lifting one leg over his shoulder, he trailed his finger down between her silky folds, sweeping through to gather a little of the moisture collecting there before drawing it to his mouth, a plaintive little noise coming from her lips, her hips rolling at his touch. Turning his hand, he used his fingers to spread her open for him, allowing him to see her skin, glistening with her own juices. Lowering his mouth, he blew a cool breath across her sex, drawing a soft whimper from her lips, her body and muscles tensing from the unfamiliar sensation he caused.

"Touch me, Kakashi. Please…" She begged, willing to promise him anything just to feel his fingers stroke her again. Her hands moved to cradle his head and brush through his hair, caressing the skin of his cheeks, trying to express to him how much she needed his touch. "I want to feel you inside me. Please…"

His eyes drifted up to look at her, memorizing the features of her face and the way she looked as his hand reached to gently stroke her again, studying the blissful expression that formed at the touch of his fingers. He loved the longing look in her eyes, the look that said he was the only one who could give her what she needed most right now and he absolutely adored it. She was his, she wanted him, she needed him and in return, he needed her.

When he had first looked at her naked, having slowly removed every piece of her clothing, she'd been uncomfortable with how he had stared at her, embarrassed at letting him see such private parts of her. No other man had paid that much attention to her pussy, merely feeling around the area just enough to guide himself into her, never even bothering to think about giving her enjoyment from his touch. Kakashi was different, paying attention to her needs, giving her pleasure before satisfying himself and oh god, was he ever good at it! If he did this to every woman he'd been with it was hard to believe any of them would let him go. His every touch, every stroke, every heated glance made any remaining embarrassment drain away. Knowing he loved her and only wanted to see and touch every part of her made her want to do anything to please him. She was now completely at his mercy and enjoying it immensely, although for him to comply with her plea would have made her much happier.

Her head tipped back and she moaned loudly as he finally slipped a finger into her waiting body. Curling the digit in a come-hither motion that gently stroked the soft skin inside her, her low moan turned into quick mewlings of pleasure. She was exquisite like this. He prayed he would be the last person she would ever allow to see her like this. Prayed she wouldn't regret this in the morning.

Her muscles clenched tightly around his finger, rippling in an unconscious need to pull him deeper into her body. How was it possible that she felt even tighter than before? He slipped a second finger in alongside the first, her expression changing to one of sheer bliss with a small whimper. Her hips ground into his hand, attempting to force his fingers deeper into her tight passage. Bending his head down, he allowed his tongue to slip out and give her clit a gentle lap, his eyes still locked on her face.

Her body bucked against the bed, her back arching and her legs parting further, doing whatever she could to give him more access to her body. She screamed his name, her hands clenching his hair tightly in her fists as he sucked hard on her clit. Eventually releasing the small bundle of nerves he held between his lips, he gently placed kisses all over the sweet skin between her thighs, his tongue darting out to lap at the juices practically pouring out of her. She was so wet. For him. Just thinking of him and a couple of gentle touches of his hand and mouth had her dripping wet. Ignoring her tight grasp of his hair, he finally plunged his tongue deep into her, his nose gently nudging her clit, her cries growing louder and her back arching to the point he thought she would break.

Then he stopped.

_No! Don't stop! I haven't come yet!_ Her mind screamed the words silently as her lips were quite unable to speak.

Raising himself up on his elbows, he watched her collapse back against the bed, whimpering slightly. Her body shook and her hands released their grip on his head. His hands were no longer holding her open for his mouth. No part of his body touched her. Her hand snaked down over her stomach, reaching for the little bundle of nerves that would finally end this agony and allow her to come. Noticing her movement, his hand shot out to stop hers, clenching it tightly in his grasp.

Propping herself up on an elbow, she stared at the man still poised between her legs, her chest heaving as she tried to regain her breath. "Why?" She asked. "Why did you stop? I just need to come. Please just touch me once more. Please Kakashi!" She was begging now.

"Not that way. For our first time, I want you to come on me, on my cock, not my hand or my tongue. I want to be buried inside you for our first time." He looked up at her imploringly.

With a sigh, she collapsed back against his bed, her head bouncing against the cushioned surface. She stared at the ceiling. "You didn't have to bring me so close and then stop. That was just being mean. You can be such a bastard sometimes, Kakashi." She grumbled. She hated that he had stopped, but understood his reasoning. He wanted them to come together, from the same action at the same time, but she didn't have to like how he'd aroused her almost to her breaking point before stopping.

His soft, warm laugh filled the room and she raised her head to look at him again. "Yes, but I'm _your_ bastard." He crawled up to lay next to her as she lay back down. He placed a kiss on her bare shoulder.

She sighed smiling and let her hand slide down to stroke him through his pants. "If you're able to make me wait to come until I finally get your cock inside me, then I get to have you completely naked for our first time. Now off with the clothes," she said and gave him a shove that almost rolled him off the bed. "Strip, and make a good show of it, too." Once he rose off the bed, she rolled onto her side to watch him, propping her head up with a hand.

_There was something wrong here._ There was a little part of his mind that kept trying to remind him how he shouldn't be here doing this, but as he stared at the naked pink-haired kunoichi laying on his bed, for the life of him, he couldn't seem to recall exactly what it was that was wrong with this. Just looking at her made a fire burn low in his belly. All that filled his head were thoughts about how beautiful she was, and how soft her skin was, and how wonderful she smelled and tasted, and how she really wanted him to do this for her. It was at that moment he realized it was time to let go of those feelings that told him this was wrong. He needed to go with the feelings of how much he loved being with her, be it bare skin pressed to bare skin or both fully clothed and sitting back to back waiting for Sasuke and Naruto to finish sparing. This was something they both clearly wanted and needed and surely nothing bad could come from something that felt this good. He wouldn't let it.

So now standing in front of her, a small smirk growing on his face, his hand reached for the hem of his shirt and pulled it over his head with one quick motion, the muscles of his stomach stretching with his movements. The sight of so much bare Kakashi flesh left Sakura drooling on the pillows. He was unbelievably pale and covered in numerous scars, some of which she remembered him receiving. At the time, he always refused her efforts to completely heal them, telling her not to waste her chakra on such a stupid thing and to just heal them to the point where they would stop bleeding. He made her want to reach out and attempt to heal the scars even though there was little she could do now.

But underneath the too pale skin and the scars was the body of a god. All his years as a shinobi had given him a body Sakura had never seen the equal of, even after the past ten years she'd spent as a medic-nin. Sakura hadn't even realized she had stuck out her hand to reach for him until he smacked it lightly away.

"You should know better than to touch the performers." Kakashi teased, the smirk growing larger, drawing her eyes momentarily away from his chest up to his mouth.

"Well, I've got to touch you a little. How else am I supposed to stick the cash in your pants?"

"I'm just as happy to accept any money thrown at me." He smirked, making her want to touch him all the more. His hand slid around his waist tugging the front of his pants down a little, giving her a view of more of his skin.

After such a tempting hint, it took her a few seconds to be able to pull her mind away from his show long enough to form a comeback. "Don't you need a pole or something to be considered a performer? Or at least sequined briefs?" Dear god, how could she have never noticed how sexy he was! Come to think of it, even before reading the latest _Icha Icha_ book, she _had_ admired his ass once or twice.

"How do you know I _don't_ own sequined briefs and I'm not wearing them right now?"

"Hmm… that would explain why you've never let me heal a wound in that area."

"Or it could be that I'm skilled enough to not get wounded in that area in the first place. But, this time, I suppose I wouldn't mind some audience participation."

"Good," she said raising herself from the bed. "I'm not sure I could keep my hands to myself much longer." She reached automatically for his waist, running her hands along his scared skin, her fingers unconsciously tracing several of the scars and reveling in the taut skin over his hard muscles. Pulling him close, she placed a kiss on his bare chest, enjoying the feeling of their bodies touching without any clothes between them. His deep, throaty sigh told her he enjoyed it as well.

Her hands continued to explore his bare skin, stroking and caressing his chest. Most of the serious scars were old. Even though he never wanted her to completely heal him, she usually didn't pay attention to what he thought was enough. She healed him to the point his body could heal itself and leave minimal scaring. Her fingers traced along the ones she remembered. One from a shuriken thrown during a practice, another from a kunai mere centimeters from his heart, a small series of cuts most likely used to torture him, burn marks from some unknown encounter. She watched as her hands continued down his smooth chest to stop at the fine line of hair leading downward from his navel.

She hesitated momentarily at the waist of his pants, looking up at him. With a small smile, his hand closed over hers and slowly drew down his pants and boxers at the same time, her eyes quickly moved down to stare at the skin revealed by their hands. He tried to slow the process down and put on a bit of a show for her, but after the initial hesitation at the waistband she was ready to see him, all of him. And now. With a quick jerk, she had all the fabric out of the way, and he was free, his rather impressive erection straining toward his stomach, the glans flushed a rosy red.

Kakashi closed his eyes as she pulled his pants and boxers further down his legs, stroking the well formed muscles of his thighs as she fell to her knees. Feeling the air movement, he opened his eyes to find her kneeling before him, her hands running back up toward his groin. "Sakura… you don't-"

"I want to Kakashi. Let me… please." Her hand reached up and grasped him firmly, stroking his hot flesh with the palm of her hand, enjoying the velvety feel of his quivering cock and the sound of his shaky sigh and shuddering breath. There was no way he was going to argue with her when she was lowering her mouth to lap at his tip, her tongue swirling around underneath his cock to press gently at the V shaped dip on the bottom side of his head.

She closed her eyes to enjoy the feelings from her other senses, the soft sounds he made telling her what actions he liked, his hands running through her hair and gently guiding her head, the taste and texture of him on her tongue. She always marveled at how soft the skin of a man's cock could be, delicate skin covering the steel of his erection. As a medic, she knew all the specifics of how the male reproductive system worked, but touching a fully-erect cock was always a new experience and a bit of an oddity compared to the flaccid or semi-erect version she might encounter in the medical capacity.

But as in most aspects of his person, Kakashi was unlike any other man she'd tried this with because his taste wasn't unpalatable. At first, she'd wanted to do this only because he had given her the same pleasure with his mouth, but now there was something more to it. He tasted good, a little salty with just a hint of bitterness. Definitely not the unpleasant taste of the last man. More importantly, she loved the sounds he was making, the little moans when she ran her tongue up and down his shaft, the hitched breathing when she lapped at the precome seeping from his tip, the soft grunts when her fingers reached down to cradle his balls and rolled their weight between her fingers. She absolutely adored the thought she could do this for him, that she could do this to him.

She opened her eyes to glance up at him and found him staring down at her, giving her the most tender look she'd ever seen and she absolutely loved it. One of his hands that was tangled in her hair moved down to stroke her cheek and she leaned into his caress, never releasing him from her mouth, sucking him deeper.

"So good…" he mumbled, his eyes closing and his head tipping back. When she released him from her mouth he gave a strangled cry until she started licking along the length of his shaft, placing small kisses on his burning hot skin. Holding his cock up, still stroking him with her fingers, her mouth closed around one of his balls sucking at him wetly, her tongue exploring him with a hard pointed tip.

Moving her mouth back to lap gently at his head, she tried something she'd never really thought about before. She closed her eyes again and concentrated on gathering her chakra in her mouth and tongue. It wasn't difficult for one skilled with chakra control, but it was a new sensation for both of them, leaving a light tingle in her lips and onto his highly sensitive cock.

"Sakura…" he groaned her name, struggling to keep his mind concentrated on forming words. "Oh god, what are you trying to do to me?" His words had become hard to make out between his gasping breaths.

Finally releasing him from her mouth, she let her hand replace her lips and explained quickly while her fingers continued stroking him. "Chakra. If I concentrate my chakra into my mouth, I can add a little extra tingle to this. I'd never thought of doing it before, but I had to find a way to bring you as close to loosing it as you brought me." Her smug smile would have bothered him more if she hadn't continued her ministrations with her chakra tingling fingers. Right now, she could tell him that she would kill him immediately after they'd both came and it wouldn't deter him one bit. He needed to have her.

"Sakura, you really need to stop that if you actually want me to come in your pussy first," he warned.

"You're a strong man. Surely you can hold it just a minute longer." She gave him an even more annoying smirk as she clamped her thumb and first finger tightly around the base of his cock, preventing an orgasm but allowing him to feel the final few strokes of her chakra-powered tongue. With one last swirl around his tip, she carefully stood without releasing the grip she had on the base of his cock. "If I let you go now, you're going to burst aren't you?"

The groan from his throat and slight nod of his head affirmed the answer to her question. Yes, he had brought her right to the edge of orgasm and left her there, telling her he wanted to come inside her first, and yes, he had figured there would be some sort of revenge, but he had never counted on this. She truly had him at her mercy. And how did she come up with something like using her chakra on him? He was willing to admit, he had used the Sharingan once or twice for some enhanced pleasure during sex, but he had never thought to use chakra like that and he was also willing to admit she was probably the first one to do so. He had never felt that good. He may have excellent self-control, but he wasn't sure he could regain it once pushed this far.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to let go until you're ready, okay?" she whispered softly into his ear. He nodded dumbly. Her free hand pulled him closer and stuck to stroking comforting circles over his shoulders and his upper back. "You need to calm down and relax, try to release some of that pent-up need into another part of your body," she soothed, the sexy whisper she'd used earlier replaced with a more commanding tone, one that helped him relax a little. Her hand firmly rubbed along his upper arms, the pressure of her touch reassuring rather than flirty. After a couple of moments Kakashi signaled he was ready for her to let go and she gradually released her grip.

"That was down-right cruel, Sakura." He scolded, a spark of anger shining in his eyes and annoyance on his face. The woman standing in front of him held her ground, returning his look with a little satisfaction glowing in her own brilliant green eyes.

"And bringing me to the edge and just leaving me there wasn't? You didn't even help me relax, you just stopped." The slightly pouty tone in her voice making her sound more like the twelve year old he first met. "_That_ was cruel. And as you should have already learned, I enjoy my revenge."

For several heartbeats, neither turned away and neither backed down, only inches separated them, each just staring into the other's eyes.

Then their bodies were crushed together, as if attracted by magnets, no space between them, their lips sealed together in a desperate kiss, tongues assaulting each other, dueling for control, once again neither backing away. They were driven by instinct alone, the need for each other completely overwhelming them. Their kiss finally broke when the need for air became too much, her head tipping back with her gasps for breath, his lips closing on the pale column of her neck, licking and sucking and biting at the skin, leaving red marks where his lips had been. His hands were rough, holding her possessively to him. His straining cock was pressed into her lower belly, the heat unbelievable and something she wanted inside her, now.

With a strong pull, she fell back on the bed, pulling him with her to land on her body, most of his weight falling between her spread legs. His mouth closed again on her collarbone, teeth nipping sharply at the tender skin while she ground her sex against his stomach, her juices wetting his skin and earning a primitive growl from his throat. Neither of them was able to control themselves, they were doing whatever felt good, whatever felt right. The man who she'd never seen lose control of himself was now on top of her, growling with his need for her, hands possessively grasping her breasts and her ass, squeezing her yielding skin and teasing her nipples with his tongue. She whimpered and reached down to feel his cock hot and hard in her hand as she stroked him roughly.

"I need you _now_, Kakashi." She whispered harshly. "I need you in me. I need you to fuck me hard and rough until I'm ready to beg for mercy." A hand slipped down to squeeze his balls, making his body jerk with a grunt. When he looked into her eyes he saw a kind of desperation that thrilled his heart. She needed him, she wanted him and nothing but him. He was the one she wanted inside her to fulfill that need he saw in her eyes.

Keeping eye contact, he raised himself above her, rubbing his rigid cock against the length of her pussy, relishing how wet she was, how ready she was for him and how her breasts heaved from her shuddering breaths. Her chest and face flushed. Aligning himself, he thrust into her with a quick motion, her tight muscles enveloping him, squeezing him tightly until she finally relaxed enough to accept him comfortably.

She had cried out with his first thrust, her head spinning and unable to think, enjoying the sweet stretching sensation he brought, taking only a few seconds to adjust to his size. There was a slight ache in the muscles she hadn't used for so long and the satisfying sensation of finally being full. Oh god, he felt unbelievably good and he had definitely been worth the wait. So good she completely forgave him for leaving her hanging earlier, leaving her just moments from an orgasm.

He gave a hesitant roll of his hips to see if she was ready to continue and when she let out a soft whimper and pushed her head harder back into the surface of the bed, he felt it safe to go on. If she wanted it rough, she would get it rough, but he also wanted to take his time with her, build her up to an incredible height before giving her that orgasm she so richly deserved.

He lowered his mouth to one of the breasts her body so willingly offered him by the arch of her back. Pulling out of her slightly, he sent the hard tip of his tongue around her areola, leaving a wet trail before switching to her other breast to give it the same treatment. Glancing up again to see the blissful expression on her face, he bit down on the tip of her nipple as he thrust himself back into her pussy. Her cry and the wriggling of her body under his made him want to pull back and quickly drive into her again, but he forced himself to restrain those urges for a few moments.

When he didn't thrust into her again immediately, her movements changed to a rocking of her hips, a desperate action in hopes of stirring him to push into her again. Still latched onto a nipple, he soothed the bite marks with his tongue, licking sweetly at her skin before switching to the other breast. After a moment, he pulled out and forced himself back into her, trying desperately to reach as far into her as he could with his cock while once again, biting down on her nipple.

She re-adjusted her legs, wrapping them higher on his torso, changing the angle of her hips and rocking to stimulate herself until he next got around to thrusting. Oh god, why wasn't he going faster? She wanted him hard and fast and while he complied on the first part, he was sadly lacking in the latter.

"Kakashi," she moaned. "Faster, please! You're just torturing me again! Please!"

"I swear I'm not torturing you intentionally, I just want to savor this moment." His lips left her breasts, moving now to stare her in the eye, the care and love written plainly on his face soothed her slightly. He really thought he wasn't torturing her! Didn't he understand how much she wanted to come? How much she needed to come?

She pulled his head back down to touch lips, her kiss hungry and demanding, forcing her tongue into his mouth with solid thrusts like she wanted from him. She was becoming desperate for him and she felt the best way to express this would be to fuck his mouth with her tongue, just like the way he should be fucking her pussy. For these actions she received another thrust from his cock, the new angle sending him deliciously deep.

But he surprised her again, by catching her tongue between his teeth and sucking on it hungrily, making her whimper. Her tongue curled in his mouth, the hard tip running over the roof of his mouth and tracing along his teeth, earning a groan from him, her attempt at getting him to go faster, pleasurable but unsuccessful.

She couldn't take this any longer. With a quick twisting movement, he was now under her, his back pressed into the bed while she was straddling his hips. Releasing his mouth and leaning back, she immediately raised herself on her knees and rammed her body down on his cock, a blissful sigh coming from her throat. Before she could impale herself again, she found herself back on the bottom, his body weight pressing her into the mattress.

"Slow, Sakura. Patience is a virtue," he whispered into her neck, his mouth sealing on her pulse point. His hips pulled back and slowly forced his cock deep into her again, her back arching under his and a needy moan coming from her lips. Feeling his cock along every inch of her passage was incredible. She swore she could feel every vein on his hot cock. Maybe there was something to this going slow stuff, although her need was still the most pressing factor, but she would try to go slower. She really didn't want this to be a quick fuck. She wanted this to have meaning and she could certainly slow herself down long enough to enjoy each stroke.

Her body clutched at him, squeezing him, so tight, so warm, giving only the slightest resistance as he slid into her wet pussy. She was perfect. It was as if she was made just to be filled by him. His need was starting to grow as well and he sped up his movements, soon thrusting into her again and giving a little twist to his hips that had her hissing through her gritted teeth. She was amazing.

"Feel good?" his lips were now sucking on a point just behind her ear.

"Yes…" she whimpered as he bit her earlobe. "Harder. I need you deeper. Please." This time he relented, twisting their bodies until she was once again over him. Pushing her upper body back until she was sitting upright, straddling his hips, his hands settled on her breasts, holding them, rubbing them softly with his palms. Her breathing became rough as she wriggled around on his cock.

"Fuck yourself on me, Sakura. Ride me. Go as fast as you want." To his surprise, she went slowly, her inner muscles clenching even tighter around him as she raised her body, allowing him to almost slip completely out of her before lowering herself slowly. A smile grew on his face as he moaned her name, pleased that she understood his reasoning.

"You're right, Kakashi-sensei. We need to enjoy this as much as we can." Only after saying the word "sensei" did she realize she'd added it to his name accidentally, but he didn't seem to notice. Was he really past the teacher hang-up or had he just not noticed? Her voice had been deep and needy, maybe the words wouldn't bother him as much if spoken in the right tone. Rocking her hips she added a little speed, still tightening her muscles around him, gripping him tightly inside her.

As her motions became faster, he released her breasts and moved down to hold her at the waist, enjoying the swaying and slight jiggling movements they made with every rock of her hips. When she tipped her head back, the ends of her hair brushed against his hands, teasing him. Moving her hands from his stomach, she placed them over his at her waist.

"Look down, Kakashi-sensei. Look at where we meet." He looked down to where their bodies were joined as she raised herself again. Past the mingling of their pubic hair, he could see her body stretched tightly around him, gripping him, almost as if hesitant to let him go. He was transfixed by how he was slipping in and out of her, his eyes unable to move away from the incredible sight of her receiving his cock, fucking herself so slowly on him. He couldn't help but groan as he watched them come together. There was something so sexy about watching this, seeing with his own eyes how well they fit. Then her hand reached down behind her and gently stroked his balls, holding them firmly in her palm.

"Sakura," he groaned, his eyes closing tightly as she rolled the soft skin in her hand.

"Do you want me to go faster now, sensei?" She asked with a slight teasing tone in her voice. From his sounds and the way he tightened in her hand, she already knew he did. She watched him nod his head slightly, as if admitting defeat. To tell the truth, even if he didn't want her to, she would have sped up after this. The feelings in her stomach had started growing again and were eating at her control. She gave another rock to her hips before giving a little bounce.

Oh god, she could call him anything she wanted as long as she started going a little faster. She could call him a perverted old man and he would happily agree as long as she didn't stop. She bounced again and he couldn't help but grunt at how deep he was going. Her hand remained gripping his balls, giving them a gentle squeeze before releasing them ever so slightly. Between that motion and the rippling sensation of her inner muscles gripping his cock, he quickly realized he was only moments away from coming. His hand slowly moved from the grip on her waist to reach down between her legs, carefully brushing the small nub of nerves.

"Kakashi!" she screamed at his touch, not caring if every person in the apartment complex heard her cry. The built up feelings she'd been trying to contain since they started finally took over, her entire body no longer in control as she merely reacted to the pleasure he was giving her. Her muscles clenched around him unimaginably tight, her hand finally releasing his balls as she felt them tighten when he came.

Then he too was out of control, his body convulsing under her, his hips pressing harder into her, trying to force himself even deeper as he came. The incredible feeling of satisfaction washed over him as she slumped forward onto his chest. They were both breathing rapidly, a light sheen of sweat covering their bodies as neither moved, their arms wrapped tightly around each other.

After a few moments, he looked down at the woman curled on his chest, his hand automatically reaching to stroke her hair gently. Her deep regular breaths told him she'd fallen asleep and he knew he wasn't far behind her. Shifting slightly, he pulled a blanket up over them, enjoying the feeling of her body on his too much to disturb her.

_She's just so beautiful_, he thought as he continued to stroke her sweat dampened hair and place soft, quick kisses on the top of her head. And so young. A part of him was scared to death about what they'd done, having had sex with a former student, a girl he'd watched grow up, a girl he'd tried to teach. A small part of him reminded him how short a period he'd actually been her teacher, how he really hadn't been suited for teaching her and how relieved he'd been when she'd turned to Tsunade to help develop her skills. He'd merely been a small, short-term stepping stone to get her where she needed to be. But she still wanted him, told him she needed him.

Could this actually work? Could they actually make a relationship work? He found he really wanted this, he wanted her. He wanted to be with her more than he'd ever wanted anything in his life, more than he could ever express with words. He loved her.

As he'd told her, it wasn't going to be easy, but anything worthwhile never was. There would be mistakes, there would be hurt feelings, there would be arguments (It was Sakura, after all, and he really liked how alive she looked when she was mad, the way her eyes shone and her face flushed). But if she was willing to give it a try, and after everything she'd done so far, he'd bet she was willing to put forth the effort. And she was right. If they tried, age didn't matter, their former-teacher former-student relationship didn't matter, nothing but being together mattered.

He would do whatever it took to keep her, he wanted to fall asleep like this every night and wake up with her in the morning. There was still a touch of fear she would regret this tomorrow, that he'd wake up and find her gone, a note on the kitchen counter telling him how wrong it had been and that she just couldn't find it in her heart to continue with a relationship like this with him.

He sighed softly and squeezed her tighter, enjoying the feeling of just being with her. Tomorrow would be the big test, to see if she'd changed her mind about loving him. Eventually, he fell asleep still holding her close with his face buried in her sweet smelling hair.

* * *

_I've given up on an epilogue - I'll just write one more chapter to wrap things up (I think.) I haven't even started writing anything so it may be a couple of weeks before the next chapter._

_Please, let me know what you think of my story! Be nice and leave a review!_


	10. Chapter 10

Sakura woke up the next morning somewhat surprised by the arm that was wrapped around her, holding her against another warm body, her cheek pressed against a man's well muscled chest. With a soft sigh, she inhaled deeply, enjoying the smell of him. Her lover. Her Kakashi. She smiled and turned her head to place a kiss on his bare chest.

It had all happened so fast. In less than a week she'd not only realized how lonely she'd been, she also found someone to change that feeling, someone who had been right in front of her for so very long. And it had taken one of Jiraiya's books for both of them to recognize it. Yes, things had progressed quickly, but he really was what she was looking for. He'd been the right one all along. She felt so good with him. Unlike her kiss with Genma, this felt right, being with him, waking up next to him.

She turned her head a little further so she could look up at his maskless face. Without it and his hitai-ate he looked so different, almost enough to be a completely different man. That mask was what separated this man from her former teacher and team leader. Seeing the two sides of him would make it easier for her to differentiate between the times he was her team leader and times he was her lover. There was one thing she was sure of, she would never grow tired of looking at his bare face and those lips. Lord, the things he had done to her with those lips!

It was an incredible feeling waking up next to him, curled up against his body. She hadn't slept this well for quite some time. Of course, she hadn't been as tired as she had been last night for quite some time either and she couldn't forget how safe and protected she'd felt in his arms. He would allow her to do this again, wouldn't he, waking up next to him? A small twinge of fear ran through her. She'd tied him up to get him to listen to her and he'd obviously had reservations about being with her. What if she had merely pushed him beyond his breaking point last night and now, when he woke up, he would tell her again a relationship wouldn't work? What if he didn't really want her? There was an uncomfortable ache in her chest with these thoughts.

Barely touching him, one of her hands slid up his body and stroked his cheek, the stubble from his unshaved face prickling her fingers. He wouldn't turn her away, would he? Would he return to hiding his face from her with that mask? Last night, the indifference usually seen in his half closed eyes was gone. They had opened wide, flashing with emotion, filled with hunger and passion and his need for her. She wanted to see that again. She wanted him to look at her like that over and over, making her feel wanted and needed.

Her fingers passed over his lips, tracing them gently, enjoying their softness while he slept. She could feel the tears prickle behind her eyes, but forced them away. If he did have second thoughts, she would just have to convince him again.

Kakashi awoke the minute he felt her touch his lips, remembering immediately what had happened the previous night. Before she could pull her hand away, he grabbed it with his own and uncurled her fingers to kiss her palm. Opening his eyes he looked down to the brilliant green ones of the woman lying so close beside him. A small frown formed when he noticed her biting her lower lip and the troubled look on her face. She was regretting this, wasn't she? He hadn't been good enough to convince her to stay and now she was trying to come up with a polite way to leave without hurting him.

He'd known from the beginning she was just looking for someone to have sex with. After all, that was what they'd discussed in the bar a few nights before. She must have wanted it enough to do anything, willing to say anything just to have sex, and now that her desperate need had been filled, she would go back to the sweet, smart, woman he knew. She would turn back into his former student and a much younger woman for him.

But what about him? There was no way he could forget last night, what they'd done, what he'd said. Forget all of it and continue as things had been for so many years. A lot of things can be said in the heat of the moment, things that may not be necessarily true, but he had meant every word he'd said last night, every kiss, every touch. Did she?

He'd woken a few times during the night to watch her sleep, her hair a faded shade of pink, almost lavender in the moonlight, and her skin incandescent and pale and smooth. She moved around quite a bit, first sprawled across him, then curled up around a pillow, and finally completely wrapped up in all the covers, all things he really didn't mind, he thought, even as he got up to get himself his own blanket and another pillow which she promptly stole. Each time he woke up, he was surprised to see her there, thinking she would have left as soon as he'd fallen back asleep.

But now it was morning, and she was awake, staring back at him with her vibrant green eyes, her lower lip still caught between her teeth and an indecipherable look on her face. He wrapped her tighter in his arms, pulling her farther up his body to the point their lips almost touched.

"Sakura…you aren't having second thoughts are you?" Just saying the words made his chest hurt, not knowing what she was thinking. _Please don't let her say she is_.

The determined look that appeared over her features as she shook her head lifted his spirits. "No, never. You?"

"Not in the slightest." At his words she flashed him a hesitant smile, something he happily returned as he bent his neck for a quick kiss, his heart swelling at her words. "Were you worried that I did?" He whispered. She nodded her head slightly and flushed.

"You don't believe I love you?"

"It's not exactly that. You were just so hesitant and tried so hard to refuse me. I was afraid I'd only pushed you hard enough that you gave in just that once and when you woke up, you'd be angry with me."

"Then why did you stay? If you thought I'd be mad, why didn't you just leave before I woke up?"

"It felt too good. I didn't want it to end. I couldn't bring myself to leave." Her hand stroked his chest, tracing the scars. "I wanted to know what it felt like to wake up to see you and touch you."

"And how does it feel?"

"Not enough words to describe it." She said and snuggled closer.

"You know, we've woken up together before."

"Sure, with Naruto and Sasuke wrapped up in their own blankets next to us. I've never woken up when you were this close and without a mask, and I've definitely never seen or felt this before." She said as her hand closed around his erection. "Oh no, I can't say I ever noticed this before." His groan and closed eyes pleased her greatly. "Do you always wake up like this?" She asked.

"Only when I wake up with a beautiful naked woman laying on me." His brain went a little fuzzy as she continued to stroke his shaft, her fingers pausing momentarily to circle around the head before moving downward again. He lay there in silence for a few moments before his hand closed over hers and stopped her movements.

"There's a few things we need to discuss before we go any further." God, he loved the mischievous gleam in her eyes telling him she was only willing to stop for a few minutes before she would force him to continue with their foreplay. And they would definitely continue. By his calculations, she had at least ten hours before she needed to report to the hospital and he intended to use every minute he could.

Her hand stopped moving, but she didn't release his cock. "And what is it we need to discuss?"

"I meant it when I said I didn't want this to be a one night stand. I want a relationship of some sort." He studied her expression to see her reaction to his words.

"Me, too." She whispered, looking back at him with a smile.

"I've never had a long term relationship before. I never wanted one or felt the need for one before. So how do we go about it?" He sighed softly, admitting his lack of knowledge about such things.

"Well first off, this isn't a mission, Kakashi. We don't have to plan everything out. Second, we take things as they come. It's best to just let it go and enjoy spending time together. Whatever happens, happens. And third, lots and lots of sex." Her hand slid lower to cup his balls, rolling them gently in her hand. His responding groan made her grin like a Cheshire cat.

"Sakura…" He warned, his voice a low growl as he tried to concentrate on what he wanted to say.

"I'm only trying to keep you in the mood." She said with the pout of a small child. "You just need to talk faster."

"Are we going to tell people? About us I mean."

"The other option would be letting them find out eventually on their own." Sakura rolled the thoughts around in her mind. Well, letting Naruto and Sasuke hear about it from someone else could be disastrous. Sasuke would probably take it well. He'd probably just be annoyed, but Naruto on the other hand… "We need to tell Naruto and Sasuke directly. Naruto will throw a fit if he hears it from someone else."

"True. He tends to overreact with things like this. And the Hokage should be told directly, too. Technically, I think we need her approval before anything like an official relationship can happen."

"Wouldn't stop me." She smiled and nuzzled his cheek.

"Me neither, but we'll need her approval to go on missions together and, as her student, it would generally be a good idea to let her know. Anyone else?"

"Do we have to tell Jiraiya? He'll be such an ass about it…"

"Let him find out on his own."

"Okay, that's settled. Anything else?" She smiled evilly as her hand returned to caressing his cock. If Kakashi had been thinking of anything else, her actions definitely drove them out of his head. Pulling her knees under her, she sat up and let the covers fall to her waist, giving him a good look at her well-rounded breasts and flat stomach, her hand continuing to stroke him.

Not even bothering to reply, his hand reached up and ran along her side, his rough fingers tickling her slightly, drawing a soft giggle from her. "Ticklish? Why, Sakura, why didn't you ever tell me you're ticklish?" He said as he again ran his hand over her ribs. She giggled again and swatted at his hand.

"I never told you because then you'd do this."

"You thought I'd tickle you or drag you into my bed and fuck you until you beg for mercy?"

She smiled. "If I thought telling you I was ticklish would get you to sleep with me, I wouldn't have had to kidnap you last night."

"Okay, maybe you wouldn't have, but I still want to hear you beg for mercy." He reached up, wrapped his arms around her and pulled her down, kissing her chest and neck while she stroked his hair.

"Better get started then, I've only got nine and a half hours until I need to be at work…"

* * *

Sakura yawned on her way to the Team 7 practice session. Kakashi was beside her and merely glanced at the girl with a small smile. 

"Wipe that smirk off your face. It's your fault I'm so tired."

"I know that. Why do you think I'm smiling?"

She rolled her eyes and ignored the tall man next to her. She still hadn't decided on how to tell the boys she and Kakashi were now a couple. They may have read Jiraiya's book, but to them, it was probably just something the old pervert had come up with in his head, not something based on reality. Vaguely. Well, maybe Sasuke could figure it out, he was a bit more insightful than Naruto, but neither of them were very good at hearing things they didn't want to hear.

She could always just clap her hands to get their attention and make an announcement, but that seemed rather silly. Telling them one at a time would have turned it into a competition (but they told me first!). If the boys took this the wrong way, she had no doubt that they'd try to beat the crap out of Kakashi and if they both ganged up on him she was uncertain of the outcome other than knowing she would spend hours and hours healing them.

"Kakashi? Have you thought of a good way to tell them?"

"Not really. Can't say I've actually been thinking about it."

"What?!" She stopped walking to stare at the man still strolling at his lazy pace. "I asked you to help me find a way to tell them! What do you mean you haven't been thinking about it?! They're going to freak when they find out!" By now he'd turned around and was standing in front of her.

"My mind has been elsewhere." He bent forward to whisper in her ear. "Specifically, I've been thinking about what you'd look like naked, face down on your desk at work, begging me to fuck you from behind, your beautiful ass pushed back toward me and wiggling in anticipation. I want to hear your voice begging me-"

"Stop that!" She whispered harshly, her face flushing a pretty pink. "This is not the time or the place for that!"

"Admit it. That's all you can think of right now, isn't it?"

"Damn you, Kakashi!" She grumbled, annoyed at the tingle between her legs and the thoughts now going through her head, imagining such a situation. The only way she could stop thinking about it was to put those thoughts into the "To Do Later" file. Dammit, now she'd never look at her desk at work the same again!

Now that he'd brought up the subject of sex at work, she couldn't help but feel annoyed with herself for calling in sick to work yesterday. The day before, after their little relationship talk, he'd done his best at getting her to beg for mercy and in less than an hour, she'd been doing just that. Another hour later, it had been his turn to beg. By the time it was time for her to leave for work, she was exhausted. She hadn't really intended to call in sick to work like she jokingly said she would, but she knew she wouldn't be any help if she went in. Besides, she hadn't called in sick for more than a year. Even rationalizing didn't completely help with the guilt of knowing she should be helping people instead of staying home in bed with her lover.

That extra time did give them the opportunity to spend another evening and night together, this time with a bit less sex and with more talking. He told her about his eye and Obito and Rin. He told her about his family and his life as the youngest Leaf Village jounin, a record he still held. And she'd told him about how she felt when, after the two boys had left, he'd also left her only a few months later. How weak and lonely and helpless she'd felt.

When they'd finally rolled out of bed this morning, it was time for their team to meet for the first time after this whole thing started. It was time to tell the boys about the changes between the former teacher and former student.

This brought her thoughts back to where she started and she noticed that, not only had they continued their walk, they were almost at the team's usual meeting place. From where she was, she could see a spiky blond head nodding enthusiastically while a black haired head remained motionless. Oh god, they were already at the big rock where they usually met and she had no idea how to tell them about her and Kakashi! They would know something was up when they came together and on time, so what was she going to say to them?

Naruto's face lit up when he saw them, waving and calling a greeting. When Kakashi gave his usual greeting, a confused look crossed the boy's face. "What are you doing here, Kakashi-sensei? You're…on time."

"Ah…I ran into him on the way here and dragged him with me." Sakura spoke up quickly. Naruto nodded and seemed satisfied with her answer, but Sasuke's expression was unreadable. She glanced back at Kakashi, but he had his book out and was leaning against the rock. _I guess I'm not quite ready to tell them. Maybe after they've fought each other and before I heal them, that way they're in no shape for physical anger._

Under the guise of reading his book, Kakashi studied his teammates. Sakura looked uncomfortable and had skirted the issue of them arriving together. He'd already decided it would be better if Sakura broached the subject with their teammates. The boys would react better to her saying it aloud, whereas coming from him, they might believe he'd coerced her into something she didn't really want. There was no way around it. Yes, he would leave the decision of when to tell them up to her.

He put his book away and motioned for Sasuke to follow him, leading the younger man a bit further into the forest and leaving Naruto and Sakura to fight where they were.

* * *

Naruto and Sakura were leaning against the large rock, waiting for Sasuke and Kakashi to return. Sakura was listening silently as Naruto chattered happily away about how he was planning to take Hinata to dinner now that she was back from her mission. Sakura was fiddling around with a kunai, rolling it across the back of her hand, her slight nervousness showing. 

Sasuke settled next to Sakura and she handed him a water bottle from which he drank deeply. Kakashi remained standing, but pulled out his book and leaned against the rock. Sasuke turned to look at Sakura and pointed at her neck.

"Sakura, is that a hickey I see on your neck?" Sasuke's voice held a teasing tone as she reached to adjust her shirt to hide it. "I assume you finally had your date with Genma?"

Sakura had flushed to a bright red as she tried to find a tactful way of telling the boys what had happened. "Ummm…Not exactly." She said quietly.

"So you found someone else?" Naruto piped up.

"Umm…yeah?" She had almost answered him with her own question, unsure if yes was the right answer.

"So do we know him?" Sasuke asked.

"Yes?"

"So who is it?" Naruto asked excitedly. All the men in Konoha ran through his mind as he ticked off who it might be. Neji? No he was dating TenTen. Kiba? He had a girl in another village who he was dating. Shino? No he was already married. Lee? Probably not because he had a tendency to annoy her…He was running out of people. If it wasn't Genma, had she started dating one of the older jounin? The thought of Sakura and Gai left a very disturbing image in his mind.

Sakura remained silent.

"You can tell us, Sakura. We won't tell anyone. We're your teammates after all." Naruto prodded. Sasuke, too, looked rather interested in knowing, but Sakura couldn't find the words. How do you tell your teammates that you're dating a much older man who had once been their teacher and was now their team leader?

The hesitant look on her face told Kakashi she'd lost her nerve and it prompted him into action. Before she realized what was happening, he'd bent down, drew her to her feet, wrapped her in his arms and kissed her through his mask. At first she was hesitant, but quickly warmed to the sensation, her tense body slowly relaxing against his, her hands moving to the back of his head and neck, not ready to stop that chaste kiss. Just his touch, the feeling of his hands, and even that of his lips through the cloth of his mask sent a shiver up her spine and a tingle from where his hands had been.

One of her hands reached to pull his mask down to kiss his bare lips, but his hand lightly smacked hers away before she could.

"Not in front of the children." He mumbled and she sighed, finally pulling away far enough to turn and look at Naruto and Sasuke, but still close enough for Kakashi to still have his hands resting on her hips.

The stunned looks on their faces, their mouths open, and their eyes bugging out of their heads made her giggle softly. "Naruto? Sasuke?" She bent over to wave a hand in front of their faces. "You guys okay?" It had been a surprising way to tell them, but apparently somewhat effective she thought, seeing as she hadn't heard a word of protest from either of them. Maybe they could do the same with Tsunade-shishou.

At that moment, Naruto launched himself toward Kakashi, swearing at him. "You bastard! How dare you touch her?! That's perverted! You're perverted!" Sakura immediately tried to step in front of him, but it was Sasuke's hand on Naruto's arm that stopped him. Sasuke's expression had returned to one of cool indifference, but she could see how tight his grip was, his fingers digging into the skin of the other boy.

"Shut up, Dobe." Sasuke growled. "In case you hadn't noticed, she doesn't seem to be protesting."

"I'm not. It was my idea in the first place." Sakura said confidently.

Naruto fell back down limply, his back slumped against the rock. "So…was it just a one night sex thing or is it more?" He stared up at the couple.

Sakura glanced over at Kakashi's smiling face, her hand coming to rest over his where he held her hip. "It's more."

"Kakashi-sensei's really the one you want, Sakura-chan? I mean, he's awfully old." Naruto asked skeptically. Sasuke merely smirked at the couple.

"He's not old!" She said, reaching over to smack Naruto on the head.

"Oww! Sakura-chaaaaan." He whined.

"Naruto does have a point Sakura. Isn't he a little…worn out?" Sasuke asked.

Sakura gave an unladylike snort and scowled at them. "Anyone would be worn out after having sex for two days straight."

Sasuke closed his eyes and rested his head on his hand, shaking his head back and forth ever so slightly, but Naruto felt the need to comment. "Ew, Sakura-chan! I didn't need to know that! I didn't want to know that!" He covered his ears momentarily before pointing a finger at Kakashi. "And wipe that smug smile off your face!"

"What smug smile?" Kakashi asked, his eye half closed in his usual expression.

"The one under your mask – Hey wait! Does that mean you've seen his face, Sakura-chan?"

The smug smile had moved from Kakashi's face to hers as she gave a nod. "Yep."

"Well? Does he have bucked teeth or is his face absolutely hideous?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Sakura said evasively.

Naruto grumbled. "You're going to have to show us eventually you know?"

"Ah, the key word is eventually. Maybe I will someday, but until then, how about lunch?" Kakashi suggested.

"Ichiraku?" Naruto perked up at the thought.

"I suppose it _is_ lunch time." Sakura agreed. Naruto jumped up and took off running, the others following behind at a slower pace, Sasuke on one side of her and Kakashi on the other.

"Are you sure this is what you want, Sakura?" Sasuke asked, studying her face.

"Absolutely." She replied, her hand reaching for Kakashi's, her fingers interlacing with his. She turned her head slightly and smiled at Kakashi.

"If you hurt her… well… Naruto and I will… Just don't hurt her." Sasuke said the warning tone in his voice clear to both.

"I won't." Kakashi said and returned Sakura's smile.

"Good."

"You guys took that better than I thought." Sakura said. "I was afraid you would all try to kill each other."

"You don't give us enough credit, Sakura." Sasuke said. "There wouldn't have been any doubt that we would beat him to a bloody pulp."

Kakashi showed his doubt with a snort of disbelief.

"_As I said_, at least you didn't try to kill each other..." She reiterated strongly. "Yet. Now if Tsunade-shishou can take it just as well, too." She sighed, hoping the Hokage hadn't started with the sake yet.

"Mind if we duck out of practice early?" Kakashi asked Sasuke. "We should probably speak with her before she hits the bottle."

They walked in silence to Ichiraku where Naruto was already waiting for them, waving from a table. As they took their seats, Sasuke gave Sakura a strange look. "That's why you wanted the rope, isn't it?"

Sakura's smiling face turned a bright red, knowing immediately what Sasuke was referring to.

"What?" Naruto shifted his gaze back and forth between Sasuke and Sakura. Kakashi just watched and smiled. "What rope?"

"I saw Ibiki yesterday and he asked me what Naruto did to make you ask him for chakra-reinforced rope?" Sasuke smirked. "It wasn't for Naruto, was it? It was for Kakashi."

"You told Ibiki that just to get him to give you rope for sex?" Naruto looked appalled.

"You know, I'm not feeling very hungry and we should probably get to Tsunade-shishou before it gets much later…" Sakura grabbed Kakashi's hand and dragged him out of the restaurant before the boys could say another word.

Naruto turned to look at Sasuke. "That has to be the most disturbing thing I've heard since she said she wanted to have sex with Genma."

"Well, at least we didn't have to pay for his lunch before they disappeared." Sasuke said. "Hope she doesn't pick up that habit."

"Think we're going to have to kill him?" Naruto asked as lunch was set down before them.

"Let's hope not."

* * *

Sakura stood in front of the Hokage's office door and for once, Kakashi's presence next to her did little comfort her. 

"How do you think she's going to take this? Is she going to object?"

"Won't know until we talk to her." Kakashi replied. In all truthfulness, he was a bit nervous as well. This was the person who could stop them from going on missions together and the person whose approval Sakura truly wanted. How would she see their relationship? Team leader, team member, ex-teacher, ex-student, old man, young girl. They would only know once they asked. "Are you ready?" He asked as he turned to look at her, taking her hand and giving it a squeeze.

She nodded silently, feeling anything but ready. Releasing his hand, she knocked on the door and waited for the Hokage to answer with her usual resounding call to come in. At her yell, Sakura glanced at Kakashi for one last reassurance before opening the door and entering the office.

Tsunade was at her desk almost hidden by the paperwork Izumo and Kotetsu kept bringing her. Sakura's sharp eyes glanced around looking for an open bottle of sake and she sighed silently when none could be found. It wasn't that the Hokage was a drunk, she just enjoyed a good drink when the stress started getting to her, something that happened almost constantly as the Hokage of the Hidden Leaf Village. Not many would blame her for relieving her stress in such a manner as long as she did it after hours, something Shizune and Sakura were always struggling to force her to do.

"Tsunade-shishou, I – we need to speak with you for a moment." Sakura said, the butterflies in her stomach annoying her more than anything else. She hadn't been this nervous around her teacher for a good number of years, but she hadn't asked for her approval of this sort of thing before. Sure she'd dated other ninja, but none of them were serious enough for her to officially notify Tsunade about. And none of them had been team members or had been so very important to her. She didn't even want to imagine what would happen if Tsunade disapproved.

"Certainly, Sakura, what's on your mind? And why did you drag Kakashi here with you?" Tsunade said with a sigh as she set her pen on her desk next to the stack of papers she was working on and leaned back in her chair. "Let me guess…Sasuke and Naruto have killed each other during training and you two were unable to stop them. Hmmm…No, your chakra levels would be much lower from trying to heal them and your clothes aren't covered in blood, so that couldn't be it.

"Maybe you took pity on Jiraiya and healed him just to get him out of your care at the hospital? No, if you'd done that why would Kakashi be here with you? And that would have completely defeated the point of leaving that _Icha Icha_ book on my desk last week." Tsunade smiled at Sakura's shocked look. "Yes, I knew who was responsible for that gift. I also knew a long time ago Jiraiya had used a likeness of me in his smutty books, but you had reminded me that I never paid him back for that, so I went ahead and finally took my revenge. That was the intention, wasn't it?"

Sakura nodded her head quickly.

"Ok, so if it wasn't healing Jiraiya, perhaps you two have finally started a romantic relationship and came to ask me for my approval?" A knowing grin spread across the woman's beautiful face when she saw the astonishment in her prize pupil's expression and even the slight surprise Kakashi momentarily showed with his single visible eye. Tsunade shook her head and crossed her hands on her desk. "It is that, isn't it?"

Sakura nodded dumbly as Kakashi's facial expression returned to that of his usual indifference.

"Couldn't you two have waited another six weeks? Another six weeks and I would have won that bet with Jiraiya." The Hokage finally looked annoyed.

"Excuse me, Tsunade-sama, did you just say you and Jiraiya had a bet on us forming a romantic relationship?" Kakashi asked incredulously. He had never even considered that anyone other than Jiraiya had noticed their subconscious emotions that might have shown in their body language.

"Yes, yes. He said you would be together in six months and I said it would be longer. But then he went and wrote that _Icha Icha_ book and had it published so quickly hoping it would push you two to action, which it apparently did. And while it wasn't in the rules that he couldn't do that, I still think he cheated by influencing you. The rules did clearly state there would be no outside help from either of us, so I believe he most definitely cheated."

Sakura was finally able to speak. "You mean, you saw this coming?"

"Of course, and I think it's a good match. There will be some ground rules, you understand? You can continue missions together, but any teammates that work with you will be instructed to specifically report to me if anything unprofessional happens during those missions. If there are missions that involve seduction of a target that you don't think you can handle because of jealousy and other emotional issues, I expect to be informed immediately and I will assign someone else. You are taking one of the birth control potions, are you not?"

Sakura nodded mutely.

"Good. If you become pregnant or you progress to marriage, I expect to be one of the first you notify."

Sakura nodded again, still too surprised to speak.

"A relationship such as this does have its good points. You are more likely to be assigned to undercover missions where you need to behave as husband and wife. It tends to give a touch of sincerity when the couple has no problems displaying affection, so I'm sure you can handle that. Unless you wish to stop the field work and be reassigned solely to the hospital, Sakura…"

Sakura shook her head and reached for Kakashi's hand, giving a brilliant smile and her eyes glowing with elation that Tsunade couldn't help but return. "Very well, consider your relationship approved and get out of here so I can get back to my paperwork." She sighed. On second thought, maybe she should have told them her approval was granted only if they helped her find the surface of her desk.

"Oh, and Sakura…"

The pink-haired head turned back to the woman behind the desk.

"I don't want you calling in sick like you did yesterday to become a regular thing." Tsunade said with a knowing look.

Sakura's face blushed to the color of her hair and she averted her eyes. "Just keep that in mind, okay?"

"Yes, Tsunade-shishou. I won't."

"Good, now get out." Tsunade said, picking up her pen and returning to her paperwork. Ah, young love. She of all people knew the problems and difficulty of loving a shinobi and she prayed Sakura never had to suffer the pain of losing hers. Or of Kakashi losing her. She had been surprised when Jiraiya had pointed out the relationship potential of the couple and she had to agree. Despite the age difference and possible disapproval of regular villagers with an ex-teacher and ex-student relationship, they made a good fit. _The best of luck, you two._

Dammit, now not only did she have to heal Jiraiya, but she owed him dinner and drinks and would have to listen to his insufferable boasting for a night. Ah well, she'd do it after she got through some more paperwork. It wasn't like he was going anywhere for a while…

* * *

The moment Sakura closed the door behind them, Kakashi turned and wrapped his arms around her to kiss her, pushing her back until she bumped against the wall with a solid thump. Her hands reached up towards his face and this time, when her fingers weren't slapped away, she pulled down his mask and returned the kiss. 

"For God's sake," Tsunade's voice bellowed from her closed office. "Do that somewhere other than in my hallway!"

The kiss broke as they both laughed softly.

"Well, you heard the woman. Shall we take this somewhere else?" Kakashi whispered in her ear, his hot breath and husky voice turning her on all the more.

"Most definitely. My apartment this time?"

"No, I left the rope at my place and if the boys think we've used that rope for sex, I wouldn't want to disappoint them." Kakashi grinned suggestively.

"I knew there was a good reason I didn't cut it off you." Sakura whispered, the mischievous look back in her eyes.

Kakashi pulled her closer and in a puff of smoke, they were gone.

The End

* * *

So much for the upbeat, sweet, fluffy fic without a lemon. Damn it, those smutbunnies get everywhere, don't they? I swear there's 8-10 of 'em hiding under my bed right now just waiting for me to get close enough for 'em to jump me. (they're playing with the dustbunnies that have been born because I've neglected cleaning as well while writing this fic) I just can't seem to breed plotbunnies as well as smutbunnies. (yes I know smutbunnies are more likely to breed because of their dirty nature, but still, bunnies are bunnies.) 

I want to thank you all for reading my fic and making it all the way through to the end. And a special thanks to those who reviewed and added me to your favorites lists. I guess I tend to gauge the improvement of my writing by the comments/reviews I receive from others so I really appreciate everyone kind enough to let me know you like it. Maybe it's not the most accurate gauge, but it makes me feel good to hear its worth posting my stuff. I suffer from a bit of low self-esteem and all those reviews I received from people absolutely make my day and keep me writing. You also had to put up with my indecision, waffling back and forth between adding a lemon or not adding a lemon, and you suffered with the length of time between my postings, specifically the last two. (oops)

I also appreciate the beta skills of ShipperTrish. Thank you so much for your help!

So thanks everyone and maybe you'll take the time to read some of my other stuff and maybe the next SakuraKakashi fic I write – I've got something close to a plot but not enough is written to start posting. Thanks again and leave a review for old time's sake?


End file.
